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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


THE  FAITH  OF  ISRAEL 


COMMISSION  ON  JEWISH 
EDUCATION 

of  the 
Union  of  American  Hebrew  Congregations 

and  the 
Central  Conference  of  American  Rabbis 

David  Philipson,  Chairman 
Edward  N.  Calisch  S.  Felix  Mendelsohn 

H.  G.  Enelow  Julian  Morgenstern 

Harry  W.  Ettelson  Joseph  Rauch 

Rudolph  Grossman  William  Rosenau 

Max  Heller  Samuel  Schulman 

Samuel  Koch  Abba  H.  Silver 

Kaufmann  Kohler  Abram  Simon 

Harry  Levi  Henry  Slonimsky 

Louis  L.  Mann  Louis  Witt 

David  Marx  Louis  Wolsey 

George  Zepin,  Secretary 

UNION  GRADED  SERIES 

Edited  by 

Emanuel  Gamoran,  Ph.  D. 

Educational  Director 

Department  of  Synagog  and  School  Extension 


The  Faith  of  Israel 


A  Guide 

for 

Confirmation 


By 

Rabbi  H.  G.  Endow,  D.  D. 

Temple  Emanu-El,  New  York 


"Then  shah  thou  delight  thyself  in  the  Lord,  and 
I  will  make  thee  to  ride  upon  the  high  places  of  the 
earth,  and  I  will  feed  thee  with  the  heritage  of  Jacob 
thy  father;  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it.'' 

{Isaiah  LVIII,  14) 


Cincinnati 
The  Union  of  American  Hebrew  Congregations 


Copyright  191 7 

by 

Th«  TJaion  of  American  Hebrew  CoDgregationa 


p:nn 


TO 

MY  MOTHER 


PREFACE 

It  is  not  the  object  of  this  work  to  serve  as  a 
text-book  of  the  Jewish  reHgion  or  of  Jewish  history. 
It  is  rather  designed  as  a  survey  of  the  Jewish  reHgion, 
for  the  special  benefit  of  young  people  preparing  for 
Confirmation,  and  to  lead  up  to  Confirmation  as  a 
spiritual  experience.  Therefore,  the  aim  of  this 
book  is  twofold :  First,  to  unify  the  pupil's  knowledge 
of  the  subject,  gained  in  the  regular  classes  of  the 
School;  and,  secondly,  to  stimulate  the  pupil  to 
further  study  and  review.  For  this  reason,  the  sub- 
jects are  treated  in  outline,  and  not  in  detail,  it  being 
left  to  the  pupil  to  ascertain  the  latter,  under  the 
direction  of  the  teacher.  For  instance,  there  is  no 
attempt  to  treat  the  Holy  Days  exhaustively ;  other- 
wise, at  least  three  chapters  would  have  been  given 
to  the  subject.  It  is  hoped  that  the  tone  of  the 
lessons  may  suggest  topics  for  further  study  and 
discussion,  and  that  the  questions  following  each 
lesson  may  serve  the  same  purpose. 

This,  of  course,  means  added  responsibility  for 
the  teacher.  But  it  is  such  as  rests  on  every  good  and 
conscientious  instructor.  No  teacher  has  a  right  to 
teach  without  adequate  preparation;  and  this  is 
particularly  true  of  the  religious  instructor.  The 
material  for  the  full  elucidation  of  the  lessons  is  not 
contained  in  this  book;  but  it  is  not  hard  to  find, 
and  the  teacher  who  has  not  yet  mastered  it,  should 
know  where  to  find  it  readily  and  how  to  bring  it 
within  the  range  of  the  pupil.  With  proper  and  fre- 
quent use  of  such  material,  a  guide  to  which  is  found 

iii 


iv  Preface 

in  the  appended  list  of  books,  it  is  hoped  that  these 
lessons  may  accomplish  their  purpose. 

There  are  twenty  lessons  in  the  book.  As  the  aver- 
age Religious  School  gives  about  six  months — from 
November  to  April — to  active  preparation  for  Con- 
firmation, aside  from  the  month  or  two  of  training 
for  the  ceremony,  meeting  once  a  week,  it  is  felt  that 
this  number  of  lessons  would  prove  suitable.  It 
allows  the  use  of  a  lesson  a  week,  with  several  weeks 
free  for  review.  Where  the  lessons  are  used  in- 
tensively, two  weeks  will  be  found  necessary  for  each. 

A  word  should  be  added  about  the  method 
underlying  these  lessons.  They  originated  in  chats 
with  boys  and  girls  preparing  for  Confirmation. 
These  chats  were  never  quite  the  same  from  year  to 
year,  though  the  subjects  were.  The  illustrations, 
from  both  books  and  experience,  varied,  and  pupils 
were  constantly  encouraged  to  offer  new  ones,  as 
well  as  to  use  such  sources  as  the  Bible,  the  Prayer 
Book,  Selections  from  the  Talmud,  works  of  later 
Jewish  literature,  ceremonial  objects,  etc.  Only  by 
following  a  similar  method,  may  the  teacher  hope 
to  find  these  lessons  useful. 

The  author  is  indebted  to  members  of  the  Edi- 
torial Committee  of  the  Union  of  American  Hebrew 
Congregations  and  of  the  Central  Conference  of 
American  Rabbis,  as  well  as  to  other  friends  who 
have  read  the  manuscript,  for  many  valuable  sug- 
gestions, and  will  be  grateful  for  such  criticisms  and 
suggestions  as  may  occur  to  those  using  the  book. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface iii 

A  List  of  Books v 

LESSON 

L     The  Meaning  of  the  Word  Confirmation . .  i 

IL     What  Confirmation  Does  for  Us 5 

IIL     The  Story  of  Confirmation 8 

IV.     The  Day  of  Confirmation 12 

V.     The  Teachers  of  Our  Religion 15 

VL     The  Bible 20 

VIL     Other  Jewish  Writings 24 

VIIL     God 29 

IX.     Revelation 34 

X.     The  Place  and  the  Duty  of  Man 39 

XI.     The  Choice  of  Israel 43 

XII.     The  Religious  Life 48 

XIII.     The  Prayer  Book S3 

XIV.     The  Ten  Commandments 58 

XV.     The  Law  of  Holiness 63 

XVI.     The  Holy  Days ^^ 

XVII.     The  Jewish  Calendar 71 

XVIII.     The  Reward  of  a  Good  Life 77 

XIX.     The  Glory  of  Jewish  History 82 

XX.     The  Messianic  Hope 87 


A  LIST  OF  BOOKS 

Abrahams,  Chapters  on  Jewish  Literature 

Abrahams,  Festival  Studies 

Abrahams,  Judaism 

Abrahams,  Jewish  Life  in  the  Middle  Ages 

Abrahams,  Singer's  Daily  Prayer  Book  with  Anno- 
tations 

Cohen,  Jewish  Life  in  Modern  Times 

Darmesteter,  The  Talmud 

Dembitz,  Jewish  Services  in  Synagogue  and  Home 

Deutsch,  The  Talmud 

Dubnow,  Jewish  History 

Enelow,  What  Do  Jews  Believe? 

Enelow,  Aspects  of  the  Bible 

Enelow,  The  Jewish  Life 

Enelow,  The  Synagogue  in  Modern  Life 

Enelow,  The  Effects  of  Religion 

Ginzberg,  The  Legends  of  the  Jews 

Goodman,  A  History  of  the  Jews 

Goodman,  The  Synagogue  and  the  Church 

Graetz,  History  of  the  Jews 

Isaacs,  Stories  from  the  Rabbis 

Joseph,  Judaism  as  Creed  and  Life 

Kohler,  Hebrew  Union  College  and  Other  Addresses 

Kohler,  Jewish  Theology,  Systematically  and  Histor- 
ically Considered 

Lazarus,  The  Ethics  of  Judaism 

Lucas,  The  Jewish  Year 

Lucas,  Talmudic  Legends 


vi  A  List  of  Books 

Mielziner,   Introduction  to  the  Talmud 
Montagu,  Thoughts  on  Judaism 
Montefiore,  Liberal  Judaism 
Montefiore,  Outlines  of  Liberal  Judaism 
Montefiore,  The  Bible  for  Home  Reading 
Philipson,  The  Reform  Movement  in  Judaism 
Rosenau,  Jewish  Ceremonial  Institutions  and  Customs 
Schechter,  Studies  in  Judaism,  ist  and  2d  Series 
Taylor,  Sayings  of  the  Jewish  Fathers 
The  Union  Prayer  Book,  Vols.  I  and  II 
The  Jewish   Encyclopedia 

Articles  on   Judaism   in    Hastings'    Encyclopedia  of 
Religion  and  Ethics 


THE  FAITH  OF  ISRAEL 


THE  FAITH  OF  ISRAEL 


Lesson  I 

THE  MEANING  OF  THE  WORD 
CONFIRMATION 


Before  we  can  learn  anything  about  any  subject, 
we  must  thoroughly  understand  the  meaning  of  the 
words  we  use.  Suppose  we  want  to  study  geography. 
The  first  thing  to  do  is  to  find  out  just  what  the  word 
geography  means.  If  we  are  told  that  geography 
came  from  two  Greek  words,  the  first  meaning 
"earth"  and  the  second  "writing",  and  that  the 
word  therefore  means  description  of  the  earth,  we 
know  at  least  just  what  it  is  that  we  undertake  to 
study. 

The  same  is  true  of  this  Confirmation  work. 
Here,  we  have  gotten  together,  so  many  boys  and 
girls,  all  of  us  intent  upon  one  thing,  namely,  to 
prepare  for  Confirmation.  Now,  I  believe  you  will 
agree  with  me  when  I  say  that  the  first  thing  of  which 
we  ought  to  make  sure,  is  that  we  know  just  what 
we  mean  to  prepare  for.  Just  what  is  it  that  we  mean 
by  Confirmation?  First  of  all,  what  does  the  word 
mean? 

I 


2  The  Faith  oj  Israel 

I  suppose  we  all  know  that  the  word  Confirma- 
tion is  derived  from  the  verb  "to  confirm".  Now, 
then,  what  does  the  word  "to  confirm"  mean?  It 
means  "to  bear  witness  to  the  truth  of  something", 
"to  assure  by  added  proof".  We  sometimes  speak  of 
confirming  a  report,  by  which,  of  course,  we  mean  to 
bear  witness  to  the  truth  of  such  a  report.  Suppose 
William  says  that  his  troop  of  boy  scouts  tramped 
all  the  way  out  to  Harrod's  Creek  last  Saturday. 
Several  boys  and  girls  question  whether  such  a  long 
tramp  had  really  been  made.  But  James  says  he  is 
in  position  to  confirm  that  statement,  as  he  was  on 
the  tramp  himself.  James,  thus,  bears  witness  to 
the  truth  of  William's  assertion.     He  confirms  it. 

Confirmation,  then,  is  the  act  of  bearing  witness 
to  the  truth  of  something. 

But  the  word  "to  confirm"  has  a  second  meaning, 
too.  It  means,  also,  to  add  firmness  to  something, 
to  strengthen  something.  Suppose  Jane  and  Mary 
have  been  very  good  and  devoted  friends.  All  of  a 
sudden  Jane  thinks  Mary  has  done  something  she 
should  not  have  done.  She  begins  to  doubt  her 
friendship  and  to  lose  faith  in  her.  But  I  go  to  Jane 
and  tell  her  she  is  mistaken  in  thinking  that  Mary 
is  not  worthy  of  her  faith  and  friendship.  Mary  is 
worthy.  I  try,  thus,  to  confirm,  to  strengthen, 
Jane's  faith  in  Mary. 

Confirmation,  thus,  becomes  the  act  of  adding 
strength,  or  firmness,  or  stability  to  something.  A 
religious  confirmation  is  the  act  of  bearing  witness 
to  the  truth  of  a  certain  religion,  and  thus  adding 
strength  to  it. 


Meaning  of  Word  Confirmation  3 

Now,  we  know  that  what  we  shall  try  to  do  here 
is  to  prepare  for  Jewish  Confirmation.  A  Jewish 
Confirmation  is  the  act  of  bearing  witness  to  the 
truth  of  the  Jewish  Religion  and  of  adding  strength 
and  stability  to  it. 

However,  we  cannot  bear  witness  to  the  truth  of 
anything  unless  we  know;  and  we  cannot  know, 
unless  we  study.  If  we  bear  witness  to  something 
without  knowing  much  about  it,  our  testimony  is 
not  worth  much. 

It  is  the  same  in  regard  to  our  religion.  We 
know  that  we  belong  to  the  Jewish  religion  by  birth. 
We  feel  that  we  ought  to  serve  it  and  to  bear  witness 
to  its  truth.  What  is  it  we  read  in  the  Bible?  "Ye 
are  My  witnesses,  saith  the  Lord,  and  My  servant 
whom  I  have  chosen."  (Isaiah  XLIII,  10).  But  the 
Lord  adds,  according  to  the  Prophet:  "That  ye  may 
know  and  believe  Me,  and  understand  that  I  am  He." 
For,  how  can  our  religion  gain  any  strength  in  our 
life,  and  through  us  in  the  world,  unless  we  know  and 
understand  it  thoroughly? 

Therefore,  in  order  to  be  able  to  bear  witness  to 
the  truth  of  our  Religion,  and  to  add  strength  to  it, 
we  must  get  the  proper  knowledge,  and  such  knowl- 
edge we  can  obtain  only  by  studious  and  earnest 
preparation.  That  is  what  we  intend  to  do  in  this 
Confirmation  Class. 


The  Faith  of  Israel 


Questions 

(i)     Why  is  it  important  to  know  the  exact  meaning 
of  words?     Give  some  examples. 

(2)  What   is   the   first   meaning   of   the   word    "to 

confirm"?     Give  an  example  or  two. 

(3)  What  is  the  second  meaning  of  the  word  "to 

confirm"?     Give  an  example. 

(4)  What    does    a    religious    confirmation    mean? 

What  does  Jewish  Confirmation  mean? 

(5)  What  must  we  do  before  we  are  ready  for  the 

act  of  Confirmation,  and  why? 

(6)  In  the  chapter  from  Isaiah  quoted  in  our  lesson, 

what  other  thoughts  connected  with  our  sub- 
ject can  you  find? 


What  Confirmation  Does  for  Us 

Lesson  II 
WHAT  CONFIRMATION  DOES  FOR  US 


In  our  last  lesson  we  spoke  about  what  it  is  that 
we  do  at  Confirmation.  We  bear  witness  to  the 
truth  of  the  Jewish  religion,  and  undertake  to  add 
strength  to  our  faith,  to  make  it  strong  and  enduring 
as  far  as  we  can. 

But  at  the  same  time  we  cannot  fail  to  see  that 
Confirmation,  also,  does  something  for  us.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  when  we  refer  to  Confirmation  Day, 
we  do  not  say  that  Judaism  is  confirmed,  but  rather 
that  certain  boys  and  girls  are  confirmed.  Suppose 
Robert  and  Ruth  are  in  the  Confirmation  Class. 
When  Confirmation  has  come,  we  do  not  say  that 
Robert  and  Ruth  confirm,  but  that  they  are  confirmed. 
In  other  words,  we  use  the  verb  "to  confirm"  in  the 
passive,  not  in  the  active  form..  Why,  then,  do  we 
do  so? 

It  is  simply  this.  Confirmation  means  the  time 
in  the  life  of  boys  and  girls  when  they  begin  to  witness 
to  their  faith,  and  avow  their  real  desire  to  live  up  to 
it  as  best  they  can.  In  this  desire  and  this  effort  they 
are  confirmed,  or  strengthened,  by  the  approval  of 
their  parents  and  their  teachers,  as  well  as  by  all 
other  men  and  women  who  would  like  the  Jewish 
religion  upheld. 

Think,  for  example,  of  a  boy  named  Louis,  who 
for  a  long  while  has  heard  about  a  certain  society 


6  The  Faith  of  Israel 

famous  for  its  good  work.  His  brother  and  some  of 
his  friends  belong  to  it,  and  are  proud  of  it.  Now, 
Louis  has  heard  a  great  deal  about  it,  and  admires 
it.  He  thinks  it  is  just  the  sort  of  society  a  boy  should 
join.  He  applies  for  admission.  He  declares  that  he 
likes  the  work  of  the  society  and  that  he  would  like 
to  help.  Finally,  he  is  made  a  member.  As  he  is 
admitted,  or  initiated,  the  older  members  tell  him 
just  what  he  will  have  to  do  in  order  to  make  a  good 
member.  They  give  him  advice  and  strength  for  the 
work.    We  might  say,  he  is  confirmed  in  the  society. 

This  is  just  exactly  what  happens  when  we  are 
confirmed  in  the  Jewish  religion.  We  are  given 
knowledge  and  advice  as  to  what  we  shall  have  to 
do  in  order  to  make  good  Jews  and  Jewesses. 

One  thing,  however,  we  must  not  forget.  Con- 
firmation does  not  mean  "joining"  or  "adm.ission". 
It  means  "strengthening".  I  call  your  attention  to 
this,  because  some  might  think  that  at  Confirmation 
we  join  the  Jewish  religion,  in  the  same  way  that 
one  joins  a  society  to  which  one  did  not  belong 
before.  Of  course,  we  all  know  that  that  is  not  so. 
Jews  we  are  from  our  very  birth.  If  our  parents 
were  Jews,  so  are  we.  The  Jewish  religion  is  ours 
from  the  very  beginning.  That  is  where  we  belong. 
We  are  born  into  the  Jewish  religion.  But  when  we 
are  confirmed,  we  make  it  known  that  we  mean  to 
be  Jews  not  only  because  we  were  born  Jews,  but 
also  because  we  have  come  to  see  what  a  fine  thing 
it  means  to  be  a  Jew,  and  what  we  must  do  in  order 
to  be  good  and  honorable  Jews.  Anybody  can  be 
something  simply  because  he  was  born   that  way. 


What  Confirmation  Does  for  Us  7 

If  a  man  is  born«of  a  prominent  family,  it  is  no  merit 
of  his.  But  the  question  is,  Does  he  Hve  in  a  way 
worthy  of  his  name?  Thus,  a  Jew  is  a  Jew  simply 
because  he  was  born  of  Jewish  parents.  But  it  takes 
knowledge  and  will  and  effort  and  the  right  sort  of 
life  to  make  of  us  good  Jews  and  good  Jewesses. 

That  is  what  Confirmation  tries  to  do  for  us.  It 
tries  to  make  of  us  good  Jews  and  good  Jewesses, 
worthy  of  the  people  whose  name  we  bear,  an  honor 
to  ourselves  and  a  blessing  to  our  fellows. 

Questions 

(i)     What  was  said  in  our  last  lesson  about  the  mean- 
ing of  Confirmation? 

(2)  What,  then,  do  we  mean  by  "being  confirmed"? 

Can  you  give  an  example? 

(3)  What    difference    is    there    between    Jews    and 

Jews?  Give  examples  from  the  Bible  of 
different  kinds  of  Jews.    Give  other  examples. 

(4)  What  does  Confirmation  do  for  us  as  Jews? 

(5)  Read  Joshua  XXIV  and  tell  why  we  might  call 

it  the  story  of  a  Confirmation  of  the  whole 
people  of  Israel?  Can  you  think  of  similar 
events  in  Jewish  history? 


Th^  Faith  of  Israel 

Lesson  III 
THE  STORY  OF  CONFIRMATION 


You  will  want  to  know  that  the  Confirmation 
service  is  a  rather  new  thing  in  Jewish  life.  I  refer 
particularly  to  two  things:  the  name  Confirmation, 
and  the  presence  of  girls  in  the  class.  When  we 
think  of  the  fact  that  our  Jewish  religion  is  thousands 
of  years  old,  and  then  consider  that  it  is  only  about 
a  hundred  years  that  we  have  had  such  a  practice 
as  Confirmation,  we  must  admit  that  the  latter  is 
not  very  old.  A  hundred  years  is  not  a  very  long 
period  in  comparison  with  four  thousand  years,  is 
it?  And  if  we  regard  Abraham  the  Patriarch,  as  the 
father  of  the  Jewish  faith,  it  is  about  four  thousand 
years  old. 

Formerly,  boys  only  were  confirmed.  You  prob- 
ably know  that  they  used  to  be  confirmed  at  the  age 
of  thirteen;  and  not  in  classes,  but  singly.  Whenever 
a  boy  reached  the  age  of  thirteen,  he  was  confirmed; 
except  that  people  did  not  call  it  by  that  name.  They 
used  to  say  that  the  boy  became  Bar  Mitzwa.  On 
the  thirteenth  birthday,  he  was  Bar  Mitzwa.  In 
honor  of  the  event  he  was  called  up  to  the  reader's 
desk,  or  pulpit,  at  the  synagogue,  on  the  Sabbath 
nearest  his  birthday,  and  allowed  to  recite  a  blessing 
and  read  the  Scripture  in  Hebrew.  Sometimes  he 
made  a  speech,  too,  on  some  religious  subject,  either 
at  the  synagogue  or  at  home.  That  was  the  way 
Bar  Mitzwa  Day  was  celebrated. 


The  Story  of  Confirmation  9 

Do  you  know  what  the  words  Bar  Mitzwa  mean? 
Of  course,  they  are  not  English.  They  are  Hebrew, 
and  their  exact  meaning  is  "Son  of  Duty".  Bar 
means  "son"  and  Mitzwa,  "duty".  Sometimes  you 
may  still  hear  the  word  Mitzwa  used  by  older  people. 
When  some  one  has  done  a  good  deed,  we  sometimes 
hear  older  folk  say  that  he  has  done  a  mitzwa. 
First,  the  word  mitzwa  meant  "a  duty",  and  then  it 
came  to  signify  a  good  deed,  because  it  is  our  common 
duty  to  do  good  deeds.  Now,  when  a  boy  reached 
the  age  of  thirteen,  it  was  thought  that  it  was  time 
for  him  to  begin  to  practice  good  deeds  on  his  own 
account  and  in  good  earnest.  Up  to  that  age,  he 
was  held  to  be  too  young  for  a  full  religious  life. 
But  from  that  time  on  he  had  to  answer  for  his  own 
life  and  his  own  deeds.  That  is  why  he  was  called 
Bar  Mitzwa,  or  a  "Son  of  Duty". 

It  was  about  a  hundred  years  ago  that  the  service 
of  Confirmation  was  introduced.  The  first  service 
of  that  nature  was  held  in  the  year  181 1,  in  the 
synagogue  connected  with  the  Jacobson  School  at 
Seesen,  near  the  Harz  Mountains,  in  Northern 
Germany.  Israel  Jacobson,  the  founder  of  the  school, 
on  that  occasion  confirmed  five  boys.  In  Berlin  we 
find  the  first  Confirmation  in  the  year  1817.  But 
there,  again,  boys  only  were  confirmed.  At  the  Tem- 
ple of  Hamburg  we  first  find  a  class  of  Jewish  boys 
and  girls  confirmed  together,  and  namely,  in  the  year 
1822.  From  Germany,  Confirmation  was  brought 
over  to  America,  and  we  have  had  Confirmation 
services  in  this  country  ever  since  the  year  1846. 
In  that  year,  Confirmation  services  were  held  at  a 


10  The  Faith  of  Israel 

synagogue  in  New  York.  In  the  year  1848,  the 
first  Confirmation  services  were  held  at  Temple 
Emanu-El  of  New  York.  Since  then,  Confirmation 
has  become  one  of  our  most  beautiful  and  impressive 
services.  Almost  every  Jewish  boy  and  girl  looks 
forward  to  it,  and  it  is  a  happy  occasion  for  young 
and  old. 

Confirmation  differs  in  two  important  ways  from 
the  old-time  Bar  Mitzwa.  First,  instead  of  every 
boy  having  a  ceremony  all  by  himself,  on  the  Sab- 
bath nearest  his  thirteenth  birthday,  a  whole  class 
is  confirmed  together.  Secondly,  girls  are  confirmed, 
as  well  as  boys.  And  I  must  add,  that  we  are  not 
confirmed  any  more  just  when  we  are  thirteen,  but 
rather  at  fourteen  or  fifteen,  or  even  later,  because 
we  are  better  prepared  at  that  age,  and  likely  to 
know  a  little  more  about  our  religion  and  history 
than  at  thirteen. 

One  reason  why  we  are  confirmed  as  a  class,  and 
not  alone,  is  that  we  are  thus  taught  the  lesson  of 
union.  "United  we  stand;  divided  we  fall",  is  an 
old  saying.  It  was  the  maxim  of  the  Colonies  during 
the  War  of  the  Revolution.  It  is,  also,  the  maxim  of 
the  Jewish  faith  and  the  Jewish  people.  We  must 
stand  shoulder  to  shoulder,  and  work  together,  for 
the  good  of  all  and  the  honor  of  our  sacred  faith — 
that  is  the  lesson  we  are  taught  by  being  confirmed 
together.  And,  surely,  there  is  no  reason  why  girls 
should  not  help  in  the  common  task  as  well  as  boys. 
Therefore,  we  have  both  boys  and  girls  in  our  Con- 
firmation classes. 

One  thing,  however,  let  us  bear  in  mind:   namely, 


The  Story  of  Confirmation  li 

that  though  Bar  Mitzwa  has  been  changed  to  Con- 
firmation, the  meaning  of  the  service  is  the  same.  It 
means  that  with  Confirmation  we  enter  upon  a  Hfe 
of  duty.  We  undertake  to  be  responsible  for  what 
we  do  or  fail  to  do.  We  give  ourselves  freely  to  a 
life  of  good  deeds.  We  take  our  place  as  responsible 
members  of  the  Jewish  people  and  as  upholders  of 
the  Jewish  religion.  That  is  what  Bar  Mitzwa 
meant,  and  what  Confirmation  still  means. 

Questions 

(i)     About  how  old  is  the  Jewish  religion?     How 
far  back  do  we  find  Confirmation? 

(2)  What  was  the  name  of  the  ceremony  before 

Confirmation  came  up?  What  does  the  old 
name  mean?  How  was  the  old  ceremony 
observed? 

(3)  When  and  where  was  Confirmation  introduced? 

Since  when  has  it  been  observed  in  America? 

(4)  In  what  ways  does  Confirmation  differ  from  the 

old-time  Bar  Mitzwa?  Why  were  these 
changes  made? 

(5)  In  what  way  do  Confirmation  and  Bar  Mitzwa 

agree? 

(6)  Read  up  the  life  of  Israel  Jacobson  (for  instance, 

in  "The  Jewish  Encyclopedia"),  and  tell  how 
it  is  related  to  the  history  of  Confirmation. 


12  The  Faith  of  Israei 

Lesson  IV 
THE  DAY  OF  CONFIRMATION 


We  know  now  what  Confirmation  means,  and  a 
little  of  its  history.  But  we  have  said  nothing  as  yet 
about  the  day  on  which  it  takes  place,  and  the  reason 
for  the  choice  of  that  special  day. 

Now,  I  must  tell  you  that  at  first  Confirmation 
was  not  held  in  all  places  at  the  same  time.  It  took 
place  on  any  Sabbath  or  festival  that  seemed  best  to 
the  rabbi.  Some  held  Confirmation  during  the  feast 
of  Hanukkah,  because  it  marks  the  re-dedication  of 
the  Temple  by  the  Maccabees.  Others  chose  Pass- 
over, on  account  of  its  connection  with  the  beginnings 
of  the  Jewish  people.  Each  was  regarded  as  a  fit 
occasion  for  Confirmation,  because  it  is  the  act  by 
which  our  young  people  give  themselves  to  the  holy 
cause  of  Israel.  By  and  by,  however,  it  was  felt  that 
it  would  be  best  to  have  Confirmation  everywhere 
on    the  same  day. 

Shabuoth,  or  the  Feast  of  Weeks,  was  finally 
selected  as  the  best  day  for  holding  Confirmation 
services.  At  present,  nearly  all  Jewish  boys  and 
girls  are  confirmed  on  Shabuoth, 

You  will  want  to  know  why  Shabuoth  was  chosen. 
Think  of  the  great  event  in  Jewish  history  in  memory 
of  which  we  keep  that  festival.  It  takes  us  back  to 
the  time  when  Moses  gave  the  Law  to  Israel  at  Mount 
Sinai.  It  was  then  that  the  people  of  Israel  pledged 
themselves  to  observe  the  Law  and  to  hand  it  down 


The  Day  of  Confirmation  13 

to  their  children.  That  great  event  in  our  history  is 
marked  by  Shabuoth.  Therefore,  what  more  fitting 
than  to  make  it  the  day  on  which  Jewish  boys  and 
girls  shall  pledge  their  strength  and  loyal  support  to 
the  religion  of  their  fathers? 

Right  here,  I  am  sure,  you  will  be  interested  to 
hear  a  little  story  found  in  the  Talmud.  Rabbi 
Meir,  we  are  told,  said  that  when  the  Israelites 
stood  before  Mount  Sinai  to  receive  the  Law,  the 
Lord  said  to  them:  "If  I  should  give  you  the  Law, 
what  good  sureties  can  you  bring  me  to  vouch  for 
you  that  you  will  guard  it?"  The  Israelites  answered : 
"Our  ancestors  will  vouch  for  us!"  But  the  Lord 
said:  "Oh,  no:  your  ancestors  need  sureties  them- 
selves." Then  the  Israelites  said:  "Our  Prophets 
will  vouch  for  us!"  But  the  Lord  said:  "Your 
prophets,  also  are  not  sufficient."  Finally,  the 
Israelites  exclaimed:  "Our  children  will  be  our 
sureties."  And  the  Lord  said:  "These  are  certainly 
good  sureties  and  on  their  account  I  will  give  you 
the  Lav/." 

At  our  Confirmation,  we  declare  our  intention 
to  redeem  the  pledge  of  our  forefathers.  We  agree 
to  carry  on  the  noble  work  that  they  took  up.  We 
agree  to  maintain  the  holy  covenant  that  the  Lord 
made  with  them  and  that  our  fathers  have  guarded 
with  such  love  and  courage  for  thousands  of  years. 
It  is  as  a  token  of  our  being  at  one  with  those  who 
first  got  the  Law,  that  we  have  chosen  Shabuoth  as 
the  day  of  Confirmation. 

Meantime,  let  us  be  sure  that  we  know  the  mean- 
ing of  the  word  "Shabuoth".     It  means  "Weeks", 


14  The  Faith  of  Israel 

and  you  will  recall  that  the  festival  was  called  the 
Feast  of  Weeks,  because  it  comes  seven  weeks  after 
the  first  day  of  Passover.  Those  weeks  were  the  time 
of  the  early  harvest  in  Palestine.  Shabuoth  was  the 
spring  harvest  festival,  too.  In  ancient  times,  there- 
fore, it  had  a  double  meaning.  It  was  the  first 
harvest  festival  of  the  year,  and  the  people  gave 
thanks  for  the  yield  of  the  land.  Besides,  it  was 
observed  in  memory  of  the  giving  of  the  Law  at 
Sinai,  and  the  people  gave  thanks  for  the  gift  of  the 
Law.  Both  meanings  of  the  Feast  of  Shabuoth 
are  important.  On  the  one  hand,  we  commemorate 
Israel's  receiving  of  the  Law.  On  the  other,  we  give 
the  first-fruits  of  our  spiritual  life  to  God.  There- 
fore, we  have  set  Shabuoth  aside  as  the  day  for 
Confirmation. 

Questions 

(i)  On  what  days  was  Confirmation  held  originally? 
Why  were  the  various  festivals  considered 
proper? 

(2)  What  day  was  finally  chosen,  and  why? 

(3)  What  event  does  Shabuoth  mark? 

(4)  What   connection   is   there  between   Sinai   and 

Confirmation?     Can   you   tell   Rabbi   Meir's 
story? 

(5)  What  does  the  word  "Shabuoth"  mean?    What 

were  the  two  meanings  of  the  festival,  and 
what  does  it  mean  to  us? 

(6)  Find  in  the  Bible  the  story  of  the  Law-giving 

at  Sinai,  and  tell  why  it  is  impressive. 


The  Teachers  of  Our  Religion  15 

Lesson  V 
THE  TEACHERS  OF  OUR  RELIGION 


At  present,  if  we  want  to  learn  about  our  religion, 
we  know  what  to  do.  We  turn  to  the  great  works  in 
which  its  teachings  are  contained,  such  as  the  Bible, 
or  the  Talmud,  and  the  later  works  of  Jewish  liter- 
ature. Then,  we  have  our  own  teachers,  who  help  us 
to  understand  those  writings.  In  this  way,  any  one 
who  really  wishes  to  master  our  religion  has  the 
means  to  do  so. 

But  does  not  this  question  arise:  Who  were  the 
first  teachers  of  the  Jewish  religion?  And  from 
whom  did  people  learn  its  lessons  before  books  were 
in  existence,  and,  especially,  before  there  was  such 
a  thing  as  a  Bible,  or  a  Talmud,  or  the  various  text- 
books and  histories  of  our  religion?  Indeed,  who  were 
the  men  to  whose  teachings  and  labors  we  owe  the 
Bible  and  all  the  other  works  of  Jewish  literature? 

Now,  it  is  most  interesting  to  trace  the  series  of 
teachers  that  followed  one  another  in  the  course  of 
Jewish  history. 

First,  there  were  the  Patriarchs.  They  were  the 
first  teachers  of  our  religion.  We  all  know  the  story 
of  Abraham,  of  how  he  left  his  native  home  in  Chaldea 
and  became  a  wanderer.  Now,  Abraham  was  really 
the  first  teacher  of  our  religion.  He  left  his  home  in 
order  that  he  might  obey  the  voice  of  God  without 
hindrance  from  the  people  round  about,  and  he  de- 
voted the  rest  of  his  life  to  the  service  of  God.    Be- 


1 6  The  Faith  of  Israel 

sides,  he  faithfully  taught  his  religion  to  his  children 
and  all  the  members  of  his  household,  and  there  is  a 
story  to  the  eflfect  that  he  converted  even  strangers 
whom  he  met  in  his  wanderings  or  entertained  at 
his  home,  to  the  faith  he  loved. 

Abraham  we  call  the  first  patriarch,  which  means 
the  first  father,  of  the  Jewish  people.  His  son,  Isaac, 
and  his  grandson,  Jacob,  are  the  other  patriarchs. 
They  were  the  first  teachers  of  our  religion. 

Then  came  the  Prophets.  Who  were  the  Prophets? 
They  were  men  whose  chief  aim  was  to  tell  their  people 
the  will  of  God,  and  to  plead  with  them  to  live  a 
righteous  life.  Again  and  again  they  proclaimed  that 
an  unrighteous  life  was  worth  nothing,  was  abom- 
inable, and  could  not  last.  "Let  justice  well  up  as 
waters  and  righteousness  as  a  mighty  stream!" 
Thus  taught  one  of  the  Prophets,  Amos  {Amos  V,  24). 
Another  Prophet,  Isaiah,  taught  as  follows:  "Wash 
you,  make  you  clean,  put  away  the  evil  of  your 
doings  from  before  Mine  eyes,  cease  to  do  evil;  learn 
to  do  well;  seek  justice,  relieve  the  oppressed,  judge 
the  fatherless,  plead  for  the  widow!"  {Isaiah  I,  16-17). 
Still  another  Prophet,  Micah,  taught:  "It  hath  been 
told  thee,  O  man,  what  is  good,  and  what  the  Lord 
doth  require  of  thee;  only  to  do  justly,  and  to  love 
mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God."  {Micah 
VI,  8).  In  these  utterances  is  summed  up  what  all 
the  Prophets  sought  to  teach. 

Of  course,  the  greatest  of  our  Prophets  was  Moses. 
"There  hath  not  arisen  a  prophet  since  in  Israel  like 
unto  Moses",  we  read  in  the  Bible  {Deuteronomy 
XXXIV,  10).     Moses  was  both  the  deliverer,  law- 


The  Teachers  of  Our  Religion  17 

giver,  and  teacher  of  Israel.  It  was  he  that  summed 
up  the  purpose  of  the  Jewish  people  when  he  said, 
speaking  in  the  name  of  God:  "If  ye  will  hearken 
unto  My  voice,  indeed,  and  keep  My  covenant,  then 
ye  shall  be  Mine  own  treasure  from  among  all  peoples; 
and  ye  shall  be  unto  Me  a  kingdom  of  priests,  and  a 
holy  nation."  {Exodus  XIX,  5-6).  Moses  gave  us 
the  Decalogue,  and  to  him  go  back  many  of  the  teach- 
ings upon  which  our  religion  rests;  such  as,  "Hear, 
O  Israel,  the  Lord  our  God,  the  Lord  is  One:  and 
thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart, 
and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  might."  {Deu- 
teronomy VI,  4-5).  "Ye  shall  be  holy;  for  I  the  Lord 
your  God  am  holy."  {Leviticus  XIX,  2).  And,  "Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  {Leviticus  XIX, 
18). 

During  the  period  of  the  Prophets,  there  was 
another  class  of  men  who  also  acted  as  teachers  of 
our  religion,  namely,  the  Priests.  But  they  were 
not  as  important  as  the  Prophets. 

When  the  Prophets  ceased,  another  class  of 
teachers  arose  to  spread  our  religion  among  the 
people.  The  name  they  were  given  was  that  of 
Sages,  or  wise  men.  What  they  tried  to  do  was  to 
master  the  great  lessons  that  the  Prophets  had 
taught  and,  in  turn,  impress  them  on  the  minds, 
and  embody  them  in  the  lives,  of  the  people.  Ex- 
amples of  their  teachings  we  find  in  the  book  of  Prov- 
erbs in  the  Bible  and  in  the  book  of  Ecclesiasticus 
in  the  Apocrypha.  Later  on,  these  teachers  were 
known  as  Scribes,  and  still  later  as  Rabbis.  Though 
the  titles  differed,   the  object  of  all  these  teachers 


1 8  The  Faith  of  Israel 

really  was  the  same.  It  was,  first,  to  preserve  the 
teachings  of  the  Jewish  religion  that  had  come  down 
from  the  Patriarchs  and  the  Prophets,  either  in 
written  form  or  by  oral  teaching;  secondly,  to  ex- 
plain these  teachings  to  the  people,  so  that  they 
might  be  clear  to  everybody;  and,  thirdly,  to  in- 
duce the  people  to  live  the  good  and  pure  life  that 
these  teachings  required.  When  we  think  of  Ezra 
and  of  Johanan  ben  Zakkai,  we  get  a  good  idea  of 
the  work  of  the  Scribe  and  the  rabbi. 

Thus,  we  see  that  the  Jewish  religion,  in  the  course 
of  its  history,  has  had  a  long,  unbroken  chain  of 
teachers.  First,  the  Patriarchs;  then,  the  Prophets; 
and,  finally,  the  sages  and  the  rabbis,  whose  succes- 
sors have  continued  to  this  very  day.  Moreover, 
it  is  these  teachers  that  in  the  course  of  time  created 
those  noble  works  of  Jewish  literature  to  which  we 
now  go  for  knowledge  of  our  Religion. 

Questions 

(i)     By  what  means  can  we  now  gain  a  knowledge 
of  the  Jewish  Religion? 

(2)  What  are  some  of  the  chief  works   containing 

the  teachings  of  our  Religion?  Have  you 
seen  copies  of  them?  Can  you  describe  them? 
Who  were  their  authors? 

(3)  Name   the  various  groups  of   teachers  of   the 

Jewish  Religion,  following  one  another  in 
history. 

(4)  Describe  the  work  of  the  Patriarchs.    Why  was 

it  important? 


The  Teachers  of  Our  Religion  19 

(5)  Who  were  the  Prophets?    Why  were  they  more 

important  than  the  priests  as  teachers  of  our 
Religion?  Can  you  name  some  Prophets? 
Can  you  give  some  examples  of  their  teach- 
ings? 

(6)  Who  were  the  teachers  of  our  Religion  after  the 

Prophets?  Wherein  did  their  work  consist? 
Tell  about  the  work  of  Ezra  and  of  Rabbi 
Johanan  ben  Zakkai. 


20  The  Faith  of  Israel 

Lesson  VI 
THE  BIBLE 


We  must  all  agree  that  no  one  can  become  the 
best  kind  of  Jew  or  Jewess  who  does  not  know  at 
least  the  most  important  parts  of  our  history  and 
religion.  Could  we  call  any  one  a  good  American 
who  docs  not  know  the  leading  facts  of  American 
history  and  does  not  realize  what  America  stands 
for?  As  Americans  we  are  justly  expected  to  know 
those  things.  And  as  Jews  we  must  know  the  chief 
facts  of  our  Jewish  history  and  religion. 

For  the  study  of  these  things  we  go,  first  of  all, 
to  the  Bible.  What  really  is  the  Bible?  Our  first 
impulse,  of  course,  is  to  say  that  it  is  a  book.  We 
are  all  accustomed  to  seeing  the  Bible  printed  and 
bound  up  in  one  volume;  so,  naturally,  we  form  the 
idea  that  it  is  just  one  book  that  came  into  being  at 
some  one  place  and  one  time. 

But  let  us  examine  it  a  little  more  closely,  and  we 
see  our  mistake.  Our  first  impression  was  wrong. 
The  Bible  is  not  one  book,  though  we  usually  see  it 
bound  up  in  one  volume.  It  contains  a  number  of 
books,  and  these  books  differ  from  one  another  in 
their  contents,  and  came  from  the  hands  of  different 
authors  writing  in  ages  far  apart.  The  Bible  is  really 
a  collection  of  books,  and  the  one  thing  all  these 
books  have  in  common  is  that  they  were  regarded 
by  our  forefathers  as  the  most  sacred  books  in  their 
possession.      That   is   why    they   were   all   gathered 


The  Bible  21 

together,  and  called  the  sacred  Scriptures.  Our 
English  word  Bible  comes  from  the  Greek  word 
"biblia",  meaning  books,  which  was  applied  to  the 
Bible  because  it  contained  the  most  sacred  and  most 
important  books. 

That  is  very  well,  you  will  say.  But  whence 
came  the  original  books  included  in  the  Bible?  The 
fact  is  that  at  first  the  Jewish  people,  like  other 
ancient  peoples,  were  taught  by  word  of  mouth. 
That  is  how  they  received  the  lessons  of  religio  h  and 
conduct,  and  their  teachers  were  either  priests  or 
prophets,  or  learned  men  in  general.  In  this  way,  a 
group  of  religious  ideas  and  laws  grew  up,  and  they 
were  called  the  Torah,  which  means  "the  Teaching", 
or  the  "Law".  That  is  what  the  word  Torah  meant 
originally.  At  present,  you  will  find,  it  is  applied 
specifically  to  the  first  part  of  the  Bible,  though 
sometimes  people  mean  by  it  the  whole  Bible  or  even 
the  whole  of  Jewish  religious  knowledge.  The  word 
"Torah"  is  Hebrew,  and  comes  from  a  verb  meaning 
"to  teach".  By  and  by,  however,  teachers  began  to 
write  down  the  teachings  they  had  received,  as  well 
as  their  own,  and  that  is  how  the  written  books  came 
into  existence  that  later  on  formed  the  Bible. 

If  we  look  into  the  Bible  more  closely,  we  find 
that  it  contains  several  kinds  of  books,  coming  from 
different  authors  and  ages.  For  this  reason,  it  is 
divided  into  three  main  sections,  which  are  as  follows : 

I.     The  Torah,  or  Law. 

The  Torah  consists  of  the  five  books  of 
Moses:    GENESIS,  EXODUS,  LEVITICUS, 


22  The  Faith  of  Israel 

NUMBERS,  and  DEUTERONOMY.  It  is 
also  called  the  Pentateuch,  which  comes  from 
the  Greek  and  means  Five  Books. 

II.     The  Prophets. 

This  section  embraces: 

(a)  The  books  of  JOSHUA,  JUDGES,  I  and 
II  SAMUEL,  and  I  and  II  KINGS.  All  these 
are  called  "The  Early  Prophets". 

(b)  The  Books  of  ISAIAH,  JEREMIAH, 
EZEKIEL,  and  the  Twelve  Minor  Prophets, 
namely:  HOSEA,  JOEL,  AMOS,  OBADIAH, 
JONAH,  MIC  AH,  NAHUM,  HABAKKUK, 
ZEPHANIAH,  HAGGAI,  ZECHARIAH, 
MALACHI.  The  only  reason  why  these 
latter  are  called  Minor  Prophets  is  that  their 
books  are  not  as  large  as  those  of  the  first  three. 
By  calling  them  "Minor",  we  do  not  mean  that 
they  were  any  less  important  than  the  others. 
On  the  contrary,  some  of  them  were  among  the 
greatest  prophets. 

III.  Hagiographa,  or  Sacred  Writings,  is  the  name 
of  the  last  section.  It  contains  the  following 
books:  (i)  PSALMS;  (2)  PROVERBS;  (3) 
JOB;  (4)  THE  FIVE  SCROLLS:  THE 
SONG  OF  SONGS;  RUTH;  LAMENTA- 
TIONS; ECCLESIASTES,  and  ESTHER; 
(5)  DANIEL;  (6)  EZRA;  (7)  NEHEMIAH, 
and  (8)  I  and  II  CHRONICLES. 

This  is  the  order  in  which  the  books  appear  in 
the  original  Hebrew  Bible.     In  the  English  version 


The  Bible  23 

used  in  churches,  the  order  differs  somewhat.  All 
told,  counting  each  book  separately,  there  are  39 
books  in  the  Bible.  In  the  Hebrew,  however,  some 
books  are  counted  together  as  one,  and  that  reduces 
the  number  to  24. 

To  these  books  we  must  go,  if  we  would  learn  the 
earliest  history  of  the  Jewish  people,  as  well  as  the 
great   teachings   of  our   faith. 

Questions 

(i)     What  must  we  know  in  order  to  make  good 
Jews? 

(2)  What  can  we  learn  from  the  Bible? 

(3)  What  is  the  Bible?    What  does  the  name  mean? 

Find  out  what  the  word  Scriptures  means, 
and  why  it  is  applied  to  the  Bible. 

(4)  Give  the  three  main  divisions  of  the  Bible. 

(5)  Give  the  names  of  the  books  of  the  Bible  in 

their  proper  order. 

(6)  How  many  books  are  there  in  the  Bible? 

(7)  State  the  meaning  of  the  word  Torah  and  trace 

the  growth  of  the  Torah. 


24  The  Faith  of  Israel 

Lesson  VII 
OTHER  JEWISH  WRITINGS 

The  Bible  has  been  called  "a  well  of  living  waters". 
It  forms  the  chief  source  of  what  we  know  about  the 
faith  and  the  earliest  history  of  the  Jewish  people. 
But  we  must  not  forget  that  the  Bible  is  not  the  only 
great  work  produced  by  Jewish  teachers.  It  is  the 
greatest,  but  not  the  only  one.  If  we  would  learn 
our  religion  properly,  we  must  know  the  other  im- 
portant works  of  Jewish  literature,  as  well  as  the 
Bible. 

It  is  just  like  what  we  find  in  the  study  of  Ameri- 
can history.  We  all  know  that  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  form  the  greatest  records  of  our  country.  We 
all  regard  the  years  of  the  Revolution  as  the  most 
important  period  in  American  history.  But  who  could 
justly  claim  to  be  a  good  citizen,  if  he  is  familiar  with 
only  those  records  and  that  period?  It  is  easy  to 
see  that  a  good  citizen  ought  to  know  at  least  the 
chief  events  and  teachings  of  American  history  since 
that  time.  Similarly,  to  be  good  Jews  we  should  try 
to  know  what  has  been  done  and  taught  by  the  Jews 
since  the  early  days  of  the  Bible. 

Among  Jewish  writings  since  the  Bible,  there  is, 
first  of  all,  a  group  of  books  called  "THE  APOC- 
RYPHA". The  word  "Apocrypha"  comes  from  the 
Greek,  and  means  "Hidden  Writings".  The  books 
going  by  that  name  were  so  termed,  because,  for  one 


Other  Jewish  Writings  25 

reason  or  another,  they  were  put  aside  by  the  men 
who  made  up  the  Bible;  they  were  hidden,  so  to 
speak.  None  the  less,  they  are  valuable  for  a  knowl- 
edge of  our  history  and  faith.  The  most  important 
books  in  this  group  are:  (i)  I  and  II  MACCA- 
BEES, which  contain  the  story  of  the  Maccabean 
War;  (2)  The  book  of  TOBIT  and  the  book  of 
JUDITH,  which  contain  religious  lessons  in  the 
form  of  stories;  and  (3)  THE  SA  YINGS  OF  JESUS 
THE  SON  OF  SIRAH  (also  called  ECCLESIAS- 
TIC US)  and  THE  WISDOM  OF  SOLOMON, 
which  contain  religious  teachings  in  the  form  of  wise 
sayings,  similar  to  the  Book  of  Proverbs  in  the 
Bible. 

Even  more  important  than  the  Apocrypha  to  the 
Jewish  student  is  the  great  work  known  as  the 
TALMUD.  The  Talmud  contains  the  teachings  of 
the  rabbis  who  devoted  their  time  to  the  study  of 
the  Bible  and  sought  to  spread  a  knowledge  of  its 
teachings  among  the  people.  In  their  study,  the  rabbis 
were  helped  by  the  oral  teachings  that  came  down 
from  age  to  age.  We  have  seen  how  such  a  mode  of 
instruction  prevailed  in  Israel  before  the  books  of 
the  Bible  were  written.  Naturally,  it  was  impossible 
to  write  down  everything.  Some  things  had  to  be 
left  to  personal  explanation,  just  as  at  present  it  is 
impossible  to  put  everything  down  in  books.  That 
is  where  the  part  of  the  teacher  comes  in.  Just  so, 
the  Bible  could  not  contain  everything,  and  even  what 
it  contained  required  explanation.  People  had  to  be 
taught  how  to  apply  its  laws  in  everyday  life.  This 
is  what  the  rabbis  of  the  Talmud  sought  to  do. 


26  The  Faith  of  Israel 

The  word  "Talmud"  comes  from  a  Hebrew  word, 
and  really  means  "study".  As  it  took  many  ages  to 
bring  forth  the  Bible,  so  it  took  many  ages  to  create 
the  Talmud.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  teachings  of 
rabbis  for  a  period  of  some  eight  centuries  are  found 
in  the  Talmud,  and  they  cover  every  possible  subject. 
The  Talmud  was  begun  in  Palestine,  and  finished 
in  Babylon. 

The  teachings  contained  in  the  Talmud  at  first 
were  handed  down  by  word  of  mouth,  from  teacher 
to  pupil.  It  was  done  by  what  is  called  the  oral 
method.  But  when  the  number  of  teachings  had 
grown  rather  large,  efforts  were  made  by  various 
rabbis  to  get  them  together  in  the  form  of  a  book. 
It  is  said  that  Hillel  and  Akiba  and  Meir,  each  of 
whom  was  a  famous  teacher,  made  such  attempts. 
But  the  first  one  who  really  succeeded  in  making 
such  a  collection  was  the  great  teacher.  Rabbi  Judah 
Ha-Nassi. 

His  work  was  given  the  name  of  the  MISH- 
NAH.  That  was  about  the  year  200  C.  E.  Later 
on,  another  collection  of  teachings,  based  on  the 
Mishnah,  was  made  in  Palestine,  and  still  an- 
other in  Babylon.  These  later  collections  were 
called  the  GEMARA,  and,  namely,  the  Palestinian 
Gemara  and  the  Babylonian  Gemara,  according  to 
the  country  of  its  origin.  The  Palestinian  Gemara  was 
closed  in  the  fourth  century,  while  the  Babylonian 
Gemara  was  completed  about  the  year  500  C.  E. 
The  Mishnah  and  the  Gemara  together  form  the 
Talmud. 

As  the  word  Talmud  means  "Study",  so  Mishnah 


Other  Jewish  Writings  27 

means  oral  teachings  learnt  by  constant  repetition, 
and  Gemara  means  oral  traditions  learnt  by  heart. 

One  thing  more  we  might  note  about  the  Talmud. 
It  is  divided  in  six  general  sections,  according  to  the 
various  subjects  it  treats,  and  it  contains  chiefly  two 
kinds  of  teachings:  laws  and  moral  lessons.  The 
parts  that  contain  the  laws  are  called  HALAKAH, 
and  those  containing  moral  lessons  are  called  AGADA. 
But  both  the  Halakah  and  the  Agada  were  meant  to 
do  the  same  thing,  namely,  to  help  Jewish  men  and 
women  to  make  their  lives  pure,  upright,  and  noble. 

Even  when  the  Talmud  was  closed,  it  did  not 
mean  the  end  of  Jewish  literature.  On  the  contrary, 
Jewish  teachers  have  been  adding  from  age  to  age 
to  the  mass  of  Jewish  writings.  Their  common  aim 
has  been  to  keep  on  explaining  what  our  Religion 
really  means  and  what  it  would  have  us  do.  With 
the  Bible  as  foundation,  they  have  built  up  a  vast 
literature  for  our  benefit.  There  are  the  Midrash 
works,  which  are  very  much  like  certain  parts  of  the 
Talmud  and  contain  beautiful  ethical  explanations 
of  the  Bible.  Then  there  are  numerous  works  re- 
lating to  the  various  questions  of  religion  and  con- 
duct, and  particularly  to  the  Jewish  religion.  Such 
men  as  Saadya,  Maimonides,  Rashi,  Mendelssohn, 
Geiger,  I.  M.  Wise,  and  a  large  number  of  other 
rabbis,  have  added  to  our  literature  from  age  to 
age.  And  if  we  would  know  the  history  of  our  Re- 
ligion, and  understand  it  thoroughly,  we  must  keep 
on  studying  not  only  the  teachings  of  the  Bible,  but 
also  the  teachings  of  the  later  works  that  came  from 
the  hands  of  Jewish   teachers. 


38  The  Faith  oj  Israel 

Questions 

(i)     Is  the  Bible  the  only  source  of  Jewish  knowl- 
edge?    If  not,  why  not? 

(2)  What   are    the   Apocrypha?      Name    the    most 

important   of    that    group   of   books. 

(3)  What  is  the  Talmud?    What  does  it  mean  and 

what  does  it  contain? 

(4)  How  did  the  Talmud  grow?     What  do  we  call 

its  various  teachings?  Name  some  famous 
rabbis  of  the  Talmud. 

(5)  What  kind  of  Jewish  literaiy  work  was  done 

after  the  Talmud?  Name  some  great  Jewish 
authors  after  the  Talmud.  Have  you  seen 
any  of  their  works,  in  the  original  or  trans- 
lation?    Describe  them. 

(6)  What  must  we  do  to  get  a  good  knowledge  of 

the  Jewish  faith  and  Jewish  history? 


God  29 


Lesson  VIII 
GOD 


We  often  use  the  word  Religion.  But  I  am 
afraid  we  do  not  always  have  a  clear  idea  of  what  it 
means.  What  does  the  word  really  mean?  Religion 
means  the  relation  of  man  to  God.  There  have  been 
all  kinds  of  religions  in  the  world.  But  all  of  them 
have  had  this  one  thing  in  common,  that  they  taught 
about  the  relation  of  man  to  God.  Nothing  can  be 
called  a  religion  that  does  not  dwell,  first  of  all,  on 
the  idea  of  God,  and,  secondly,  on  the  idea  of  what 
relation  there  exists  between  man  and  God. 

What  is  the  Jewish  idea  of  God? 

First,  that  God  is  One.  This  is  the  first  of  all 
Jewish  ideas.  We  all  know  that  the  first  hero  of 
Jewish  history,  Abraham,  started  out  with  this  idea, 
and  made  it  the  work  of  his  life  to  uphold  and  spread 
it.  He  left  his  native  land,  his  father's  house,  his 
kith  and  kin,  because  he  realized  how  great  this  idea 
was,  and  that  it  was  his  duty  to  cling  to  it,  and  teach 
it  to  others.  The  Jews  have  always  shared  his  be- 
lief. God  is  one  and  there  is  none  beside  Him.  The 
Jew  has  always  denied  the  existence  of  many  gods. 
Our  watchword  has  been:  "Hear,  O  Israel,  the 
Lord  our  God,  the  Lord  is  One".  {Deuter.  VI,  4). 

Just  as  firm  has  been  the  Jewish  idea  that  God  is 
holy.  What  do  we  mean  by  holy?  One  who  is  per- 
fect in  all  the  moral  virtues:  in  purity,  justice,  mercy, 
truth,  and  every  other  virtue.     It  is  thus  that  the 


30  The  Faith  of  Israel 

Jew  has  always  thought  of  God.  God  is  perfect  in 
every  moral  quality.  He  is  not  only  the  one  God, 
but  he  is  also  different  from  the  gods  that  other 
peoples  worshiped  now  and  then,  because  He  is 
holy,  and  demands  holiness  from  those  that  worship 
Him.  This  idea  the  Prophets  taught  time  and  again, 
and  one  of  the  greatest  prophets  expressed  it  in  the 
well-known  words:  "Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord 
of  hosts;  the  whole  earth  is  full  of  His  glory".  {Isaiah 
VI,  3).  These  words  are  found  frequently  in  our 
Prayer-book. 

Now,  this  one  and  holy  God  has  always  been  here, 
and  He  created  all.  As  we  look  about,  we  see  the 
host  of  wonderful  things  that  are  round  about  us. 
We  see  the  heavens,  the  stars,  the  fields  with  so 
many  plants  and  flowers  upon  them,  the  hills  and 
dales.  We  see  them  all  beautifully  arranged,  and 
each  doing  its  part  to  make  the  world  a  bright, 
orderly,  and  happy  place.  We  see  man,  also,  with 
his  numerous  gifts  and  powers,  which  enable  him 
not  only  to  live,  but  also  to  do  so  many  great  and 
wonderful  things.  Who  made  all  these?  From 
whom  came  all  these  things?  There  is  only  one  an- 
swer: God  made  them  all,  and  from  Him  came  all 
the  glory  of  Creation,  all  the  beauty  of  Nature,  and 
all  the  gifts  and  powers  of  man. 

One  thing  more.  God  not  only  made  everything 
in  the  beginning,  but  He  has  at  all  times  been  with 
His  creatures,  and  ruled  and  blessed  them,  and  al- 
ways will  continue  to  do  so.  All  that  we  have,  we 
receive  from  Him,  no  matter  in  how  roundabout  a 
way  it  may  reach  us.    He  is  the  source  of  all  the  joys, 


God  31 

and  the  strength,  and  the  beauties  that  we  possess. 
Even  what  we  get  from  our  parents,  or  learn  from 
our  teachers,  or  obtain  by  our  own  efforts,  we  owe 
to  Him,  because  He  is  the  maker  of  all.  Some  people 
have  failed  to  see  this,  and  served  all  sorts  of  lesser 
things  as  if  they  were  God  and  the  source  of  the 
blessings  of  life.  Various  stars,  and  animals,  and 
plants,  and  human  beings,  have  been  thus  worshiped. 
To  such  worship  the  true  Jew  has  always  been  op- 
posed. We  know  only  one  God,  and  He  is  the  maker 
of  heaven  and  earth,  and  also  the  source  of  all  the 
joys  and  blessings  of  life. 

It  is  well  to  recall  some  of  the  important  passages 
in  the  Bible  on  this  subject. 

(I)  The  first  and  second  Commandments:  "I 
am  the  Lord  thy  God,  who  brought  thee  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the  house  of  bondage.  Thou 
shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  Me.  Thou  shalt 
not  make  unto  thee  a  graven  image,  nor  any  manner 
of  likeness,  of  any  thing  that  is  in  heaven  above,  or 
that  is  in  the  earth  beneath,  or  that  is  in  the  water 
under  the  earth;  thou  shalt  not  bow  down  unto 
them,  nor  serve  them ;  for  I  the  Lord  thy  God  am  a 
jealous  God,  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon 
the  children  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation 
of  them  that  hate  Me;  and  showing  mercy  unto  the 
thousandth  generation  of  them  that  love  Me  and 
keep   My  commandments".    {Exodus  XX,   2-5). 

"I  am  the  Lord,  that  is  My  name;  and  My 
glory  will  I  not  give  to  another,  neither  My  praise 
to  graven  images".   {Isaiah  XLH,  8). 

(H)     "I   am   the  Lord,   and  there  is  none  else, 


32  The  Faith  of  Israel 

beside  Me  there  is  no  God;  I  form  tlie  light,  and 
create  darkness;  I  make  peace,  and  create  evil; 
I  am  the  Lord,  that  doeth  all  these  things.  I,  even 
I,  have  made  the  earth,  and  created  man  upon  it; 
I,  even  My  hands,  have  stretched  out  the  heavens, 
and  all  their  host  have  I  commanded".  (75am/t  XLV, 
5-12). 

"The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
firmament  showeth  His  handiwork".  {Psalm  XIX,  2). 

(III)  "How  precious  is  Thy  lovingkindness,  O 
God !  and  the  children  of  men  take  refuge  in  the 
shadow  of  Thy  wings".  {Psalm  XXXVI,  8). 

"The  Lord  is  good  to  all;  and  His  tender  mercies 
are  over  all  His  works".  {Psalm  CXLV,  9). 

(IV)  The  Twenty-third  Psalm. 

All  these  passages  form  a  good  summary  of  the 
Jewish  idea  of  God — that  God  is  One,  that  He  is  a 
Holy  God,  that  He  has  created  all,  and  that  His 
providence  lovingly  watches  over  all. 

Questions 

(i)     What  does   Religion   mean?     What   place   has 
God  in  Religion? 

(2)  What  is  our  first  idea  about  God?    To  whom  do 

we  trace  it  back? 

(3)  What   is   holiness?     Trace   the   idea   of   God's 

holiness  in  the  second  commandment.  What 
idea  of  God  do  we  draw  from  all  that  we  see 
round  about  us? 

(4)  What  is  God's  relation  to  His  creatures?     And 

what   idea   of   God   do   we   draw    from  that? 


God  33 

What  made  some  people  serve  idols? 

(5)  Recite  the  passages  from  the  Bible  concerning 

God,  given  in  this  lesson.  Do  you  know 
similar  passages?  Can  you  find  such  passages 
in  the  Bible? 

(6)  Find    in    the    Prayer-book    the    passage    from 

Isaiah  about  God's  holiness.  What  do  we 
call  the  prayer  in  which  it  occurs?  How 
often  does  it  occur  in  the  Prayer-book? 


34  The  Faith  of  Israel 

Lesson  IX 
REVELATION 


We  have  seen  how  the  feast  of  Shabuoth  came  to 
be  chosen  as  the  day  most  fit  for  Confirmation.  It 
is  the  festival  celebrated  in  honor  of  the  giving  of 
the  Torah,  or  the  Law,  to  Israel.  I  suppose  you  are 
aware  that  this  great  event  is  called  the  Revelation. 
"Revelation"  is  a  word  used  quite  often,  and  it  is 
easy  to  find  out  what  it  means.  It  is  the  act  of  making 
known,  or  disclosing,  something.  But  when  we 
speak  of  "the  Revelation",  in  connection  with  Jewish 
history,  we  mean  the  act  by  which  the  Lord  gave 
the  Torah,  disclosed  His  Law,  to  Israel. 

Now,  it  is  perfectly  natural  to  wonder  as  to  just 
how  that  great  event  happened.  How  did  God  make 
Himself  known  to  Israel?  How  did  He  speak  to 
them?  How  did  He  make  them  hear  Him?  Indeed, 
some  people  find  it  hard  to  understand  it,  saying  that 
they  never  had  heard  God  speak,  and  they  wonder 
how  our  forefathers  had  managed  to  do  so. 

Still,  it  seems  to  me  that  there  are  times  when 
the  Lord  speaks  to  each  one  of  us.  There  must  have 
been  times  when  every  one  of  us  heard  His  Voice, 
and  heard  it  distinctly.  Take,  for  instance,  the  case 
of  a  boy  who  had  some  hard  task  to  perform  and  who 
in  his  heart  prayed  God  to  help  him,  and  did  so  very 
earnestly;  presently  he  felt  that  God  was  promising 
him  such  help,  and  bidding  him  go  ahead  and  be 


Revelation  35 

strong,  and  do  it,  just  as  once  upon  a  time  Joshua 
was  told  to  do;  don't  you  think  that  such  a  boy  has 
a  right  to  feel  that  he  has  heard  God  speak  to  him? 
Of  course,  God's  Voice  may  be  unlike  other  voices. 
It  is  not  a  physical  voice.  It  is  not  a  voice  produced 
by  the  usual  organs  of  speech.  But  are  all  voices 
physical?  Don't  we  often  hear  things,  and  feel 
things,  that  are  said  to  us  by  voices  other  than  phys- 
ical? God  speaks  to  our  hearts,  just  as  our  mother 
does,  as  our  father  does,  and  such  words  are  the  ones 
we  hear  most  distinctly.  We  can't  fail  to  hear  them. 
We  can't  escape  them. 

Now,  this  is  just  what  happened  to  the  Jewish 
people  at  Sinai.  The  Lord  revealed  Himself  to  them. 
For  once.  He  revealed  Himself  to  a  whole  people  at 
the  same  time,  and  not  merely  to  one  or  two  or  a 
handful  of  people.  They  all  heard  His  Voice,  and 
they  heard  it  because  they  were  eager  to  do  so.  They 
had  prayed  and  longed  and  prepared  themselves  for 
God's  Voice,  and  then  it  came. 

It  is  true  that  when  it  came  to  putting  what  was 
said  on  that  occasion  into  words,  and  in  writing,  one 
person  was  chosen  to  do  so,  Moses.  But  the  people 
heard  the  Voice  themselves.  That  is  why  they  lis- 
tened so  readily  to  Moses. 

And  they  heard  much  more  than  could  be  put  in 
words  or  written  down;  just  as  we  hear  much  more 
than  can  be  put  into  words  when  some  one  we  love 
speaks  to  us,  or  pleads  with  us,  or  blesses  us.  That 
unspoken,  unwritten  part  of  what  the  Lord  said  to 
them,  the  Jews  bore  away  from  Sinai  in  their  hearts, 
and  they  have  kept  it  there  ever  since.     It  became 


36  The  Faith  of  Israel 

part  of  the  Torah,  the  part  that  can  never  be  fully 
told  or  explained,  though  many  teachers  have  tried 
to  do  so.  It  was  "entrusted  to  the  heart",  as  the 
rabbis  put  it.  It  can  never  be  taken  away.  It  be- 
came the  basis  of  the  oral  teachings  and  traditions 
of  the  rabbis,  who  often  referred  to  it,  harked  back 
to  it.  That  is  why  the  Revelation  has  always  been 
regarded  as  so  wonderful  an  event  in  Israel's  history. 

Yet,  as  we  know.  Revelation  did  not  stop  at 
Sinai.  Time  and  again,  we  are  told,  the  Lord  re- 
vealed Himself  and  spoke  to  people;  to  men,  women, 
and  children.  The  Bible  is  full  of  instances.  And 
the  people  who  were  particularly  accustomed  to  hear 
God's  Voice  were  the  Prophets. 

I  have  sometimes  asked  young  people  to  tell  me 
what  they  thought  the  Prophets  were,  and  why  they 
in  particular  were  chosen  to  hear  God's  Voice  so 
regularly.  One  girl  once  answered  that  the  Prophets 
were  smart.  But  surely  that  was  not  all.  Were  the 
Prophets  merely  smart?  Was  Moses  merely  smart, 
or  Amos  or  Isaiah  or  Jeremiah?  Was  Deborah  merely 
smart?  And  is  it  enough  to  be  smart  to  hear  God's 
Voice?  Hardly!  More  than  smart  were  the  Prophets. 
They  were  godly.  They  loved  to  think  of  God,  to 
seek  Him,  to  make  sure  as  to  what  He  wanted  them 
to  do,  and  their  chief  desire  in  life  was  to  become 
God's  messengers  and  servants.  If  they  could  impart 
God's  will  to  their  people  and  get  them  to  live  an 
upright  and  holy  life,  they  were  satisfied.  That  was 
the  kind  of  men  the  Prophets  were,  and  that  is  why 
they  were  fit  to  hear  God's  Voice,  why  God's  secret 
was  revealed  to  them  so  often.     As  we  read  in  the 


Revelation  37 

book  of  Amos  (III,  7) :  "For  the  Lord  God  will  do 
nothing,  but  He  revealeth  His  counsel  unto  His 
servants  the  prophets." 

And  just  think  what  has  happened  since.  Has 
not  the  Lord  kept  on  revealing  Himself  to  people? 
Do  not  we  find  in  every  age  men  and  women  who  have 
heard  God's  Voice?  Indeed,  we  do.  And  it  is  this 
that  has  made  it  possible  for  our  Religion  to  keep 
alive  and  grow,  and  meet  the  needs  of  every  new  age. 
This  is  what  has  kept  our  religion  young.  There  are 
men  like  Hillel,  and  Rabbi  Judah  the  Prince,  and 
Saadya  Gaon,  and  Judah  Ha-Levi,  and  Moses  Men- 
delssohn, and  Abraham  Geiger,  and  Isaac  M.  Wise. 
Of  course,  none  of  them  was  as  great  as  the  Prophets. 
Yet,  each  of  them  heard  the  Voice  of  God.  They  and 
their  like  have  continued  the  work  of  the  Prophets. 

Let  us,  also,  think  of  this !  Has  not  God  repeatedly 
revealed  Himself  to  other  men?  When  we  read  the 
story  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  especially  during  the  period 
of  the  Civil  War,  can  we  help  feeling  that  Lincoln 
often  took  his  troubles  and  difficulties  to  God  and 
sought  counsel  from  Him,  and  got  it?  And,  in  our 
own  way,  may  not  we  also  hear  God's  Voice?  But 
in  order  so  to  do,  we  must  live  a  certain  kind  of  life. 
"The  Lord  is  nigh  unto  all  them  that  call  upon  Him," 
we  read  in  the  Psalms  (CXLV,  18),  "to  all  that  call 
upon  Him  in  truth".  That  is  where  the  example  of 
the  Prophets  and  the  other  great  teachers  may  help  us. 

Questions 

(i)     What  does  the  word  "revelation"   mean?  What 
is  meant  by  "the  Revelation"? 


38  The  Faith  of  Israel 

(2)  Have  you  ever  had  the  experience  of  hearing 

God's  Voice?  Do  you  know  of  others  who 
have?  How  does  God's  Voice  differ  from  the 
ordinary  voice? 

(3)  What  made  the  Revelation  at  Sinai  so  wonder- 

ful? Describe  it.  What  was  the  part  of  the 
Revelation  "entrusted  to  the  heart"? 

(4)  Why  were  the  Prophets  fit  to  hear  God's  Voice? 

Can  you  describe  their  character? 

(5)  How  has  Revelation  been  kept  up  (a)  in  Israel 

and  (b)  in  the  world  at  large?  How  has  it 
affected  the  Jewish  religion? 

(6)  How  can  we  fit  ourselves  for  God's  revelations? 

(7)  Tell  something  about  the  life  and  the  work  of 

the  several  great  men  named  in  this  lesson. 


The  Place  and  the  Duty  of  Man  39 

Lesson  X 
THE  PLACE  AND  THE  DUTY  OF  MAN 


Man  is  the  most  wonderful  creature  on  earth. 
No  other  creature  can  be  called  his  equal.  It  is  true 
that  in  some  respects  man  does  not  seem  to  be  the 
equal  of  other  animals.  Is  he  as  strong  as  the  lion? 
Is  he  as  large  as  the  elephant?  Can  he  fly  like  the 
eagle?  Does  he  stay  on  earth  as  long  as  a  tree? 
No.  In  many  ways,  man  is  more  feeble  and  fragile 
than  other  parts  of  Creation. 

Yet,  we  know  full  well  that  man  is  the  pride  and 
crown  of  Creation.  What  is  it  that  puts  him  above 
the  rest  of  Nature?  Of  course,  it  is  his  mind,  his 
reason,  his  soul.  He  may  not  be  as  strong  or  as  fleet 
or  as  long-lived  as  some  other  things  on  the  face  of 
the  earth.  But  when  the  Lord  blessed  him  with  the 
supreme  gift  of  reason,  and  endowed  him  with  mind 
and  soul.  He  lifted  him  to  a  place  high  above  all  other 
creatures.  Thus,  man  was  made  the  master  of  Crea- 
tion, to  do  with  it  as  his  will  and  wisdom  may  prompt. 

Think  what  a  great  privilege  thus  is  granted  to 
Man!  Man  is  made  ruler  of  this  vast  and  beautiful 
world.  All  other  animals,  all  plants,  all  lands  and 
streams  and  seas,  are  handed  over  to  him  as  a  sacred 
trust.  You  may  recall  the  words  of  the  Psalmist: 
"The  heavens  are  the  heavens  of  the  Lord;  but  the 
earth  hath  He  given  to  the  children  of  men".  {Psalm 
CXV,  16).  It  depends  upon  man  what  shall  become 
of  this  beautiful  earth  and  of  all  this  realm  of  Nature. 


4©  The  Faith  of  Israel 

Shall  they  be  used  for  the  honor  and  beauty  and  joy 
of  the  world,  or  not?  It  is  a  sacred  trust,  indeed,  and 
from  age  to  age,  and  in  every  place,  men  are  called 
upon  to  answer  the  question  as  to  how  they  have 
taken  care  of  their  trust. 

Let  us  bear  in  mind  one  great  law  that  rules  all 
life.  It  is  this:  Position  and  duty  go  together.  When 
one  is  raised  to  the  highest  place,  the  greatest  duty 
is  put  upon  him.  No  one  can  hold  a  high  place 
without  yielding  to  just  as  high  a  duty.  If  a  man  is 
made  President  of  the  United  States,  he  naturally 
takes  on  greater  and  more  varied  duties  than  one 
who  is  merely  a  county  clerk.  The  engineer  of  a 
railroad  has  a  higher  position  than  the  fireman,  but 
his  duty  also  is  greater.  Take  Mr.  Taft,  for  example. 
He  has  held  many  places  in  the  course  of  his  public 
life.  He  has  been  lawyer,  judge,  governor  of  the 
Philippine  Islands,  Secretary  of  State,  and  finally 
became  President.  Each  office  he  has  had  has  car- 
ried its  own  duties.  The  higher  he  rose,  the  higher 
became  his  duties.  But  his  duties  as  President  were 
the  greatest,  because  his  office  was  the  highest. 

Thus,  when  man  was  given  the  highest  place  in 
Nature,  he  was  also  assigned  the  most  solemn  duties. 
He  is  expected  to  live  a  life  more  beautiful,  noble, 
and  pure  than  any  other  being  on  earth.  He  is 
expected  to  live  in  accordance  with  the  light  of  his 
mind,  his  spirit,  his  soul.  He  is  expected  to  take  care 
of  his  soul,  which  is  the  most  precious  part  of  him. 
For,  by  giving  him  a  soul,  God  created  man  in  His 
own  image;  He  made  man  godlike.  "God  created 
man  in  His  own  image,"  we  are  told  in  the  Bible, 


The  Place  and  the  Duty  of  Man  41 

"in  the  image  of  God  created  He  him".  {Genesis  I,  27). 
But  no  man  lives  up  to  his  place  or  duty,  who  forgets 
all  this  and  falls  into  the  habit  of  living  just  like  an 
animal,  merely  eating  and  drinking  and  sleeping,  and 
giving  never  a  thought  either  to  God  or  to  his  soul. 

What,  then,  does  our  religion  tell  us  about  man — 
his  place  and  duty?  It  tells  us  that  man  is  the  greatest 
of  all  God's  creatures  on  earth.  He  is  made  in  the 
image  and  likeness  of  God.  By  dint  of  his  mind  and 
soul  he  is  given  the  first  place  in  Nature.  Therefore, 
it  is  his  duty  to  live  at  all  times  so  nobly  as  to  show 
himself  worthy  of  his  high  position. 

First  of  all,  he  should  be  grateful  to  God  for  the 
way  He  has  made  him  and  the  place  He  has  given 
him.  "I  will  give  thanks  unto  Thee,"  says  the  Psalm- 
ist, "for  I  am  wonderfully  made;  wonderful  are  Thy 
works;  and  that  my  soul  knoweth  right  well".  {Psalm 
CXXXIX,  14). 

And,  next,  he  should  try  to  show  his  gratitude  by 
the  life  he  lives.  He  can  do  so  only  by  paying  heed 
all  the  time  to  the  soul  within  him,  and  by  striving 
to  live  a  just,  loving,  and  humble  life  before  his  God. 
"The  spirit  of  man  is  the  lamp  of  the  Lord,  searching 
all  the  inward  parts,"  we  are  told  in  the  Bible.  {Prov- 
erbs XX,  27).  And,  again,  the  Prophet  Micah  teaches 
us,  "It  hath  been  told  thee,  O  man,  what  is  good, 
and  what  the  Lord  doth  require  of  thee;  only  to  do 
justly,  and  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with 
thy  God".  {Micah  VI,  8), 


42  The  Faith  of  Israel 

Questions 

(i)     What  place  does  man  hold  in  Creation?    What 
gives  him  his  place? 

(2)  What  follows  from  man's  high  position?    What 

are  man's  special  duties? 

(3)  Trace  the  relation  between  position  and  duty. 

Give  some  examples. 

(4)  Can  you  sum  up  our  idea  of  man?     Recite  the 

several   passages   from    the    Bible   quoted   in 
this  lesson. 

(5)  Recite    the    eighth    Psalm,    and    show    how    it 

expresses  the  thought  of  our  lesson. 

(6)  Find  in  the  Prayer-book  prayers  which  contain 

the  idea  of  our  lesson. 


The  Choice  of  Israel  43 

Lesson  XI 
THE  CHOICE  OF  ISRAEL 


In  the  history  of  the  human  race,  Israel  has 
enjoyed  a  specially  high  place.  Israel  has  been  called 
"the  chosen  people".  What  does  this  title  really 
mean?  It  means  that  the  Jews  were  chosen  by  the 
Lord  as  the  first  of  all  peoples  to  know  Him,  as  well 
as  to  serve  Him,  and  it  was  made  their  particular 
duty  to  spread  that  knowledge  and  to  live  according 
to  it.  This  choice  of  Israel,  and  Israel's  acceptance 
of  the  choice,  is  called  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  with 
Israel. 

The  beginnings  of  the  Jewish  people,  as  we  know, 
go  back  to  Abraham  and  the  other  patriarchs  of 
whom  we  hear  in  the  book  of  Genesis.  But  the  real 
history  of  Israel  as  a  people  starts  after  the  deliver- 
ance from  Egypt,  at  Sinai.  It  was  there  that  they 
obtained  the  law  through  Moses,  and  were  set  apart 
for  all  time  as  the  special  people  of  God.  There  they 
pledged  themselves  to  do  and  to  obey  the  Divine 
word.  From  that  time  on  Israel  has  had  one  par- 
ticular work  to  do  in  the  world.  He  has  been  the 
servant  of  the  One  God.  His  chief  duty  has  been  to 
serve  God  and  to  spread  the  truth  about  Him  every- 
where. He  has  had  to  live  a  life  fit  for  the  service  and 
the  approval  of  God.  If  we  compare  the  world  to  a 
sanctuary,  Israel  was  meant  to  be  the  priest  and 
teacher  therein.  "Now,  therefore,"  said  the  Lord, 
when  Israel  was  first  chosen,  "if  ye  will  hearken  unto 


44  T^he  Faith  of  Israel 

My  voice  indeed,  and  keep  My  covenant,  then  ye 
shall  be  Mine  own  treasure  from  among  all  peoples; 
for  all  the  earth  is  Mine;  and  ye  shall  be  unto  Me 
a  kingdom  of  priests,  and  a  holy  nation".  {Exodus 
XIX,  5-6). 

This  has  formed  the  special  task  of  Israel  in  the 
world.  It  has  made  him  a  unique  and  peculiar 
people.  There  has  been  no  other  people  like  the 
Jews  in  all  history.  The  Prophets,  therefore,  have 
called  Israel  the  Servant  of  the  Lord.  "Behold  My 
servant,  whom  I  uphold;  Mine  elect,  in  whom  My 
soul  delighteth;  I  have  put  My  spirit  upon  him;  he 
shall  make  the  right  to  go  forth  to  the  nations". 
{Isaiah  XLII,  i).  "And  now  saith  the  Lord  that 
formed  me  to  be  His  servant:  'It  is  too  light  a  thing 
that  thou  shouldest  be  My  servant  to  raise  up  the 
tribes  of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  offspring  of  Israel; 
I  will  also  give  thee  for  a  light  of  the  nations,  that 
My  salvation  may  be  unto  the  end  of  the  earth'." 
{Isaiah  XLIX,  5-6). 

In  order  to  fulfil  his  noble  task,  Israel  has  had 
to  endure  a  great  deal  of  hardship  and  suffering. 
That  is  but  natural.  Nothing  great  has  ever  been 
done  in  the  world  without  struggle  and  hardship. 
This  is  true  of  persons,  as  well  as  of  peoples.  Only 
those  doing  nothing,  do  not  have  to  struggle  and 
suffer.  But  whoever  wants  to  achieve  something, 
must  be  ready  for  all  kinds  of  hardship.  Think  of 
Moses;  think  of  Nehemiah ;  think  of  Lincoln.  Would 
any  of  them  have  achieved  anything  without  meeting 
with  hardship,  and  overcoming  it?  Or  think  of  the 
American  colonies  during  the  War  of  the  Revolution; 


The  Choice  of  Israel  45 

what  could  they  have  done  without  the  readiness  and 
the  power  to  endure  a  great  deal  of  suffering? 

The  greater  the  task,  the  greater  the  hardship 
and  the  trials.  Thus,  the  Jews  have  had  to  suffer 
a  great  deal  in  the  course  of  the  ages  as  they  went 
about  doing  the  great  work  that  was  allotted  them. 
There  is  no  history  as  full  of  hardship  and  suffering 
as  the  history  of  Israel.  But  there  is  none  so  heroic, 
either.  That  is  just  what  has  made  it  the  most 
heroic  history  in  the  world.  Just  because  the  Jews 
were  chosen  for  a  divine  work,  they  have  had  to  suffer 
a  great  deal.  But  hardship  has  only  served  to  make 
Israel  stronger  and  braver  all  the  time.  And  what 
is  more,  the  Lord  has  taken  care  of  Israel  and  kept 
watch  over  him.  "Behold,  He  that  keepeth  Israel 
doth  neither  slumber  nor  sleep".  {Psalm  CXXI,  4). 

However,  God's  covenant  with  the  people  of 
Israel  has  not  yet  come  to  an  end.  The  duty  that  has 
rested  on  our  fathers  from  Sinai  down,  still  rests  on 
us,  and  will  continue  to  rest  on  those  coming  after 
us.  "Neither  with  you  only  do  I  make  this  covenant 
and  this  oath,"  we  read  in  the  Bible,  "but  with  him 
that  standeth  here  with  us  this  day  before  the  Lord 
our  God,  and  also  with  him  that  is  not  here  with  us 
this  day".  {Deuteronomy  XXIX,  13-14).  It  is  an 
endless  duty.  As  long  as  there  are  Jews  at  all  in 
the  world,  they  are  under  the  solemn  oath  to  stand 
for  the  truth  of  God  in  the  world,  to  live  according 
to  His  law,  and  to  proclaim  His  rule  among  the  na- 
tions. "As  for  Me,  this  is  My  covenant  with  them, 
saith  the  Lord ;  My  spirit  that  is  upon  thee,  and  My 
words  which  I  have  put  in  thy  mouth,  shall  not  de- 


46  The  Faith  of  Israel 

part  out  of  thy  mouth,  nor  out  of  the  mouth  of  thy 
seed,  nor  out  of  the  mouth  of  thy  seed's  seed,  saith 
the  Lord,  from  henceforth  and  for  ever".  {Isaiah 
LIX,  2i).  And  this  duty  will  rest  upon  Israel  until 
all  the  world  has  become  a  kingdom  of  God  and  all 
men  have  learnt  to  know  and  serve  Him.  "In  that 
day  shall  the  Lord  be  One  and  His  name  One".  {Zecha- 
riah  XIV,  9). 

To  be  a  true  child  of  Israel  means  not  only  to  be 
born  of  Jewish  parents,  but  also  to  try  to  live  in 
accord  with  the  noble  history  and  the  great  task  of 
the  Jew.  The  true  child  of  Israel  will  seek  at  all 
times  to  prove  that  he  knows  the  meaning  of  the 
choice  of  Israel.  He  will  seek  to  live  a  life  so  pure  and 
honest  and  true,  as  one  has  a  right  to  expect  of  one 
belonging  to  a  holy  people.  He  will  try  to  show  that 
he  means  to  help  in  the  doing  of  the  work  for  which 
Israel  has  been  chosen.  Nor  will  he  shrink  from  what 
he  may  have  to  suffer  because  of  his  being  a  Jew.  It 
is  of  such  that  the  Lord  says,  in  the  words  of  the 
Prophet  Isaiah:  "I  will  give  them  their  recompense 
in  truth,  and  I  will  make  an  everlasting  covenant 
with  them.  And  their  seed  shall  be  known  among 
the  nations,  and  their  offspring  among  the  peoples; 
all  that  see  them  shall  acknowledge  them,  that  they 
are  the  children  which  the  Lord  hath  blessed".  {Isaiah 
LXI,  8-9). 

Questions 

(i)     By  what  special  title  has  Israel  been  known? 
What  does  it  mean? 


The  Choice  of  Israel  47 

(2)  To  what  event  do  we  date  back  the  beginning 

of  Israel  as  a  people?    For  what  purpose  does 
the  Jewish  people  exist? 

(3)  What  has  Israel  been  called  by  the  Prophets, 

and  why? 

(4)  Tell  about  the  relation  of  duty  and  hardship. 

Apply  it  to  the  history  of  Israel  and  to  the 
life  of  the  Jew  today. 

(5)  What  do  we  mean  by  the  Lord's  covenant  with 

Israel?    How  long  has  it  existed?    What  does 
that  covenant  mean  to  us? 

(6)  Recite  and  explain  the  verses  from  the  Bible 

quoted  in  this  lesson. 

(7)  Find  in    the  Prayer-book  passages  expressing 

the  thought  of  our  lesson. 


48  The  Faith  of  Israel 

Lesson  XII 
THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE 


We  have  seen  that  ReHgion  means  the  relation  of 
man  to  God.  If  there  is  such  a  relation  in  our  life, 
it  is  clear  that  we  should  try  to  show  it.  No  religion 
is  worth  anything  that  does  not  show  itself  one  way 
or  another  in  actual  life.  We  do  not  want  a  mere 
religion  of  words,  an  empty  religion.  Religion  must 
be  lived.  "It  is  no  vain  thing  for  you,"  Moses  has 
said,  "it  is  your  life".    {Deuteronomy  XXXII,  47). 

What,  then,  must  we  do  in  order  to  live  a  really 
religious  life? 

First  of  all  comes  worship.  The  worship  of  God 
has  always  been  a  part  of  the  religious  life.  It  must 
always  remain  a  part  of  it.  We  all  know  that  men 
have  worshiped  God  in  different  ways.  But  nowhere 
and  at  no  time  do  we  find  really  religious  men  and 
women  that  do  not  worship  at  all.  "Exalt  ye  the 
Lord  our  God,"  says  the  Psalmist,  "and  prostrate 
yourselves  at  His  footstool".  {Psalm  XCIX,  5). 

Even  among  Jews,  worship  has  not  always  had 
the  same  form.  In  ancient  times,  for  instance,  the 
bringing  of  sacrifices  was  regarded  as  a  necessary 
part  of  worship.  Kneeling,  too,  belonged  to  the  reg- 
ular form  of  worship,  though  now  it  does  not.  Only 
on  the  Day  of  Atonement  Jews  still  kneel  in  many 
synagogues.  "O  come,  let  us  bow  down  and  bend 
the  knee,"  we  read  in  the  Psalms,  "let  us  kneel  before 
the  Lord  our  Maker".  {Psalm  XCV,  6).    Later  on. 


The  Religious  Life  49 

we  find  various  customs  In  the  services  of  the  Syna- 
gogue. In  many  different  ways  the  Jews  of  the  vari- 
ous ages  have  sought  to  express  their  devotion  and 
piety,  A  reHgion  as  old  as  ours  is  bound  to  have 
witnessed  many  changes  in  the  forms  of  worship. 
But  at  no  time  has  it  been  thought  possible  for  a 
Jew  to  live  the  religious  life  without  some  kind  or 
some  way  of  Divine  worship. 

Our  worship  at  present  consists  largely  in  prayer. 
Prayer  is  the  lifting  of  our  heart  to  God.  Prayer 
includes  the  praise  of  God,  hope  in  Him,  confidence 
in  Him,  gratitude  to  Him,  and  the  seeking  of  His  aid 
in  our  daily  life.  It  is  the  communion  of  our  spirit 
with  God.  If  we  love  God,  we  shall  naturally  want 
to  pray  to  Him;  just  as  we  are  eager  to  speak  with 
anyone  we  love,  with  father  or  mother,  about  what 
is  nearest  to  our  heart.  We  cannot  say  that  we  really 
live  the  religious  life,  if  we  do  not  pray.  The  habit 
of  prayer  is  part  of  the  religious  life.  Prayer  in  the 
morning,  prayer  at  night,  prayer  at  table,  prayer  on 
all  important  occasions — that  is  worship.  It  has 
been  an  old  custom  among  Jews  for  a  person  to  select 
some  one  prayer,  or  Bible  verse,  as  his  own  favorite, 
special  prayer,  to  be  recited  whenever  the  need  for 
prayer  arises.  That  is  a  good  custom.  It  trains  one 
to  the  habit  of  praying,  and,  besides,  offers  the  words 
for  prayer,  which  we  are  not  always  able  to  find  for 
ourselves. 

Another  part  of  the  religious  life  is  the  observance 
of  some  religious  forms,  or  ceremonies.  This  is  a 
very  important  point,  on  which  we  should  have  our 
mind  quite  clear.     Forms  or  ceremonies  have  always 


50  The  Faith  of  Israel 

been  a  part  of  the  religious  life.  But  we  must  bear 
in  mind  one  thing:  namely,  that  forms  in  themselves 
have  never  had  any  religious  value.  Such  value  they 
have  only  when  they  serve  to  express  a  religious  idea 
or  to  call  to  mind  a  religious  duty.  Take,  for  instance, 
the  old  form  of  the  booth  during  the  feast  of  Taber- 
nacles; it  has  religious  value  only  if  it  serves  to 
express  the  idea  of  how  God  has  led  His  people,  and 
to  remind  the  Jewish  people  of  the  duty  of  gratitude 
to  Him.  The  same  may  be  said  of  all  Jewish  cere- 
monies, both  of  the  past  and  the  present;  for  ex- 
ample, the  Seder  on  Passover,  or  fasting  on  the  Day 
of  Atonement,  or  the  reciting  of  Kaddish  in  a  period 
of  mourning,  and  many  others. 

Forms,  then,  are  not  religious  in  themselves. 
They  are  valuable  only  if  they  express  a  religious 
idea  or  call  to  mind  a  religious  duty.  But  in  the 
religious  life  we  must  have  some  forms  and  ceremonies, 
because  it  is  natural  for  us  to  want  to  express  our 
religious  ideas,  and  we  need  reminders  every  now  and 
then  of  our  duties.  That  is  why  we  must  have 
religious  forms  and  ceremonies.  Indeed,  that  is  why 
we  delight  in  them.  They  express  the  spirit  of  our 
faith  and  help  us  to  guard  our  religious  life. 

Certain  ceremonies  that  existed  in  the  past  have 
passed  away.  But  some  religious  forms  still  are  in 
force,  and  those  we  ought  to  keep  up.  They  are  part 
of  our  religious  life.  We  ought  to  keep  the  Sabbath, 
observe  the  Holy  Days,  attend  Divine  worship,  sup- 
port the  synagogue  and  the  religious  school,  be 
confirmed,  say  the  Kaddish  in  time  of  mourning,  and 
uphold  all  other  forms  that  are  helpful  in  our  religious 


The  Religious  Life  51 

life.  Otherwise,  if  we  neglect  the  forms,  we  are  very 
likely  to  lose  our  religious  ideal  and  to  forget  our 
duties. 

Finally,  the  religious  life  consists  in  doing  what  is 
right  at  all  times  and  in  all  places.  Right  conduct  is 
the  most  important  part  of  the  religious  life.  It  means 
to  do  the  right  in  private  and  in  public,  in  the  open 
and  in  secret,  against  all  odds.  Without  upright 
conduct,  no  one  can  be  said  to  live  a  religious  life, 
no  matter  how  much  he  prays  and  how  many  forms 
he  keeps  up.  The  real  core  of  the  religious  life  is 
found  in  purity,  honesty,  kindness,  industry,  faith- 
fulness, obedience,  charity,  and  every  other  form  of 
right  doing.  Those  are  the  real  molds  in  which  the 
religious  life  is  cast.  Without  them,  there  can  be  no 
true  and  loving  relation  between  man  and  God. 
"Ye  shall  be  holy,"  we  are  told  in  the  Bible,  "for  I 
the  Lord  your  God  am  holy".  (Leviticus  XIX,  2). 


Questions 

(i)     What  gives  real   worth   to  a  religion?     What 
do  we  mean  by  a  religious  life? 

(2)  What  are  the  three  sides  of  the  religious  life 

named  in  this  lesson? 

(3)  What  is  worship?     What  do  you  know  about 

worship  in  the  past?  What  is  our  worship 
today?  Can  you  recite  some  prayers?  Have 
you  a  special  prayer  of  your  own?  Find  some 
famous  prayers  of  the  Bible. 


52  The  Faith  of  Israel 

(4)  What  are  ceremonies   for?     Name  some  cere- 

monies of  the  past.  Name  some  ceremonies 
of  today,  and  explain  their  meaning. 

(5)  What  place  has  conduct  in  the  religious  life? 

Do  you  know  what  the  Prophets  taught  on 
this  subject?     Give  some  examples. 

(6)  Recite   the   Bible   verses  given   in   this   lesson. 

Recite  the  first  Psalm,  and  explain  how  it 
illustrates  our  lesson.  Can  you  do  the  same 
with  the  fifteenth  Psalm? 


The  Prayer-Book  53 

Lesson  XIII 
THE  PRAYER-BOOK 


When  we  go  to  Synagogue  or  Temple,  we  use  a 
prayer-book,  in  order  to  be  able  to  take  part  in  the 
service.  Some  say  they  can  see  no  use  in  a  prayer- 
book.  They  think  they  can  pray  without  one.  Yet, 
we  soon  discover  that  there  are  many  good  reasons 
for  using  a  prayer-book  at  Divine  services.  Without 
one  our  attention  is  likely  to  wander.  We  may  be 
unable  to  find  the  right  words  to  express  our  prayers. 
We  might  not  even  know  what  to  pray  for.  Likewise, 
everybody  in  a  place  of  worship  might  have  a  differ- 
ent prayer  in  mind,  and  thus  make  praying  together 
of  no  use  at  all.  When  we  pray,  we  do  so  not  only 
for  ourselves,  but  also  for  our  fellows,  for  the  whole 
community,  for  all  Israel.  These  are  some  of  the 
reasons  why  at  Jewish  services  a  prayer-book  has 
been  used  from  very  early  times. 

Of  course,  the  prayer-book  that  we  use  now  is  not 
exactly  like  those  of  other  days.  Jewish  prayer-books 
have  undergone  certain  changes  in  the  course  of  time. 
When  we  consider  that  it  is  over  two  thousand  years 
now  since  the  order  of  Divine  services  at  the  Synagogue 
began  to  be  arranged,  it  is  only  natural  that  many 
changes  should  have  occurred  in  the  services,  as  well 
as  in  the  prayer-book. 

There  is  another  thing.  The  Jewish  people  have 
not  lived  in  the  same  country  always.  They  have 
lived  in  many  countries,  and  though  they  have  always 


54  The  Faith  of  Israel 

been  one  people  in  regard  to  their  religion,  they 
differed  in  many  customs.  When  the  prayer-book 
first  began  to  form,  the  Jews  lived  chiefly  in  Palestine 
and  Babylon.  That  is  where  the  foremost  rabbis 
were  found,  and  where  the  idea  arose  to  fix  the  prayers 
for  Divine  services  and  collect  them  in  one  book. 
Two  or  three  hundred  years  before  the  fall  of  the 
Temple,  the  form  of  many  prayers  was  fixed,  while 
it  is  over  a  thousand  years  ago  that  the  first  complete 
Jewish  prayer-book  was  compiled  in  Babylon  by  the 
Gaon  Amram  (846-864). 

By  and  by,  however,  we  find  large  Jewish  com- 
munities elsewhere;  in  Spain,  in  Italy,  in  France, 
Germany,  Poland,  and  so  forth.  They  all  used  the 
prayer-book  (or  Siddiir,  in  Hebrew,  meaning  Order 
of  Prayer).  But  it  was  only  natural  for  them  to 
make  such  changes  in  it  as  they  thought  best  for  their 
needs.  Thus,  we  find  certain  differences  between 
the  prayer-book  used,  let  us  say,  in  Spain  and  that 
of  the  Jews  of  Germany  and  Poland.  Sometimes  the 
difference  is  merely  in  the  order  of  the  prayers,  and 
then  again  it  is  in  the  prayers  themselves.  Likewise, 
there  are  differences  between  the  prayer-book  used  in 
Orthodox  synagogues  and  those  of  Reform  temples. 

Yet,  in  spite  of  all  such  changes,  there  are  certain 
features  that  we  find  in  every  Jewish  prayer-book. 
Those  are  the  parts  that  were  always  present  in  our 
service,  and  have  been  kept  no  matter  what  may 
have  been  added  or  omitted.  They  are  the  original 
and  most  important  features  of  our  worship,  and  every 
Jewish  prayer-book  contains  them. 

These  parts  may  be  divided  into  three  groups,  and 


The  Prayer-Book  55 

together  they  express  the  object  of  worship.  They 
are  as  follows:  First,  profession  of  faith;  secondly, 
petitions  for  all;  and,  thirdly,  silent  devotion  and 
private  prayer.  No  matter  what  Jewish  prayer-book 
we  may  take  up,  we  shall  find  these  features.  With- 
out them  our  worship  would  not  be  complete. 

First,  there  is  the  Shema:  "Hear,  O  Israel,  the 
Lord  our  God,  the  Lord  is  One!"  It  is  called  the 
Shema  from  the  first  word  of  the  verse  in  Hebrew, 
which,  as  every  Jewish  child  knows,  is  Shema  Yisrael 
Adonay  Elohenu  Adonay  Ehad.  This  has  formed  the 
undying  watchword  of  the  Jew.  The  Shema,  with 
the  passages  following  it,  forms  the  profession  of 
faith.  The  same  is  true  of  the  Kedusha  (Sanctifica- 
tion)  and  the  Kaddish,  as  well  as  of  the  Adoration. 
They  all  express  our  faith  in  God,  and  our  praise  of 
Him  in  time  of  both  joy  and  sorrow.  The  Kaddish, 
for  instance,  which  is  recited  by  mourners,  is  a  prayer 
expressing  our  trust  in  God,  and  praise  of  Him,  when 
we  have  lost  a  dear  one.  Then,  there  is  the  so-called 
Tefillah,  or  Supplication,  which  begins  with  "Praise 
be  unto  Thee,  Lord  our  God  and  God  of  our  fathers". 
These  prayers  belong  to  the  group  of  petitions.  They 
recite  God's  mercies  to  our  fathers  and  ask  that  He 
may  continue  them  for  us.  And,  finally,  there  are 
periods  for  silent  devotion,  both  before  and  after 
the  service,  as  well  as  during  it,  when  we  may  med- 
itate in  silence  and  offer  such  private  prayers  as  are 
in  our  hearts. 

In  addition  to  these  main  features,  the  prayer- 
book  contains  many  prayers  that  were  composed 
from  time  to  time  as  special  need  arose.    For  instance, 


56  The  Faith  of  Israel 

the  persecutions  of  the  Middle  Ages  often  inspired 
the  composition  of  new  prayers.  Also,  the  prayer- 
book  contains  hymns,  or  songs  of  praise,  and  other 
religious  poems.  Among  the  most  beautiful  are  the 
hymns  known  as  Adon  Olam  ("Lord  of  the  World"), 
Yigdal  ("Extolled  be  God") ,  and  En  Kelohenu  ("There 
is  None  like  our  God"). 

We  may  ask,  "Where  did  the  contents  of  our 
prayer-book  come  from?"  Let  us  bear  in  mind  that 
some  of  the  most  important  parts  were  taken  from 
the  Bible.  The  Shema  is  found  in  the  book  of  Deuter- 
onomy (VI,  4).  Of  course,  the  Psalms,  the  finest 
religious  poems  in  the  world,  are  from  the  same 
sacred  source.  Other  prayers,  also,  were  taken  from 
the  Bible.  Others  were  taken  from  the  Talmud,  in 
which  are  found  some  beautiful  prayers,  composed 
by  the  rabbis.  And  others,  still,  were  written  by 
poets  and  saints  of  later  times.  Indeed,  we  know 
that  for  hundreds  of  years  the  great  poets  of  Israel 
wrote  their  noblest  poems  on  religious  themes,  and 
it  was  considered  the  highest  possible  honor  for  such 
a  poem  to  be  taken  into  the  prayer-book.  These 
poets  were  called  Payyetanim,  and  the  poem  was 
called  Piyyut.  One  can  see  how  closely  these  words 
resemble  our  English  words  "poet"  and  "poem". 
They  all  go  back  to  a  common  origin  in  the  Greek 
language. 

In  this  way,  the  Jewish  prayer-book  came  into 
being.  It  contains  special  parts  for  week-day  serv- 
ices, the  Sabbath,  as  well  as  festivals  and  Holy  Days. 
Also,  it  contains  certain  selections  from  the  Bible,  as 
well  as  from  later  Jewish  literature,  for  public  and 


The  Prayer-Book  57 

private  reading.  The  prayer-book  has  always  meant 
a  great  deal  to  the  Jewish  religious  life.  Ought  we 
not  to  make  it  mean  as  much  to  us  today? 

Questions 

(i)     Why  do  we  need  a  prayer-book?     How  does  it 
help  Divine  services? 

(2)  What  has  caused  the  various  changes  in   the 

Jewish  prayer-book?  How  did  it  grow,  and 
who  compiled  the  first  complete  prayer-book? 
What  is  the  Hebrew  name  for  it? 

(3)  What  features  are  common  to  all  Jewish  prayer- 

books?  Name  them,  and  place  them  in  your 
own  prayer-book. 

(4)  Find  other  passages  in  your  prayer-book  coming 

under  the  different  heads  named  in  this 
lesson. 

(5)  Where    did    the    contents    of    the    prayer-book 

come  from? 

(6)  Name  and   explain   the   several    Hebrew   titles 

occurring  in  this  lesson. 

(7)  Do  you  know  any  prayers  by  heart?     Recite 

them. 


58  The  Faith  of  Israel 

Lesson  XIV 
THE  TEN  COMMANDMENTS 


The  basis  of  our  religious  life  lies  in  the  Ten 
Commandments,  or  Decalogue,  or  the  Ten  Words, 
as  they  are  termed  in  Hebrew  {Asereth  Ha-Dibroth). 
These  Commandments  the  Israelites  received  from 
Moses  at  Mount  Sinai,  and  they  have  always  been 
regarded  as  our  most  sacred  laws.  No  one  can  say 
that  he  lives  up  to  the  demands  of  the  Jewish  religion, 
if  he  does  not  follow  at  least  the  Decalogue.  The 
best  people  will  try  to  do  many  other  things  which 
form  part  of  the  religious  life,  though  they  are  not 
named  in  the  Decalogue.  For  example,  we  know  that 
it  is  part  of  the  religious  life  to  help  the  needy,  though 
we  are  not  told  so  in  the  Decalogue.  But  the  least 
one  can  do,  and  must  do,  in  order  to  deserve  the 
title  of  a  religious  person,  is  to  observe  what  is  laid 
down  in  the  Ten  Commandments.  That  is  the  basis 
and  the  beginning  of  all  religion. 

Of  course,  every  boy  and  girl  in  the  Confirmation 
class  knows  the  Decalogue  by  heart.  It  is  one  of  the 
things  every  Jewish  child  is  supposed  to  know.  If, 
however,  you  happen  not  to  know  it,  or  to  have  for- 
gotten part  of  it,  you  had  better  find  it  in  your 
Bible  {Exodus  XX,  2-14),  and  learn  it.  What  we 
wish  to  do  in  this  lesson,  is  to  examine  what  the 
Decalogue  really  contains  and  what  duties  it  tries 
to  teach  us. 

The  first  thing  we  notice  is  that  the  Decalogue 


The  Ten  Commandments  59 

contains  two  classes  of  duties.  The  first  class  sums 
up  our  duties  toward  God,  and  the  second  our  duties 
to  our  neighbors.  Philo,  the  great  Jewish  teacher  of 
the  first  century,  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
first  four  commandments  contain  our  duties  to  God, 
and  the  last  five  our  duties  to  our  neighbors,  while 
the  fifth  commandment  deals  with  our  duty  to  our 
parents.  The  fifth  commandment,  thus,  serves  as  a 
link  between  the  two  parts  of  the  Decalogue.  This, 
Philo  said,  was  because  our  parents  in  a  way  take 
the  place  of  God  on  earth  and  therefore  should  be 
given  in  our  regard  a  position  between  God  and  our 
neighbors. 

Let  us  look  a  little  more  closely  at  the  first  group 
of  duties,  as  contained  in  the  first  four  command- 
ments. What  do  they  teach  us?  They  teach  that 
God  is  One;  that  He  brought  Israel  out  of  Egypt; 
that  we  must  have  no  other  gods  before  Him  and  inust 
make  no  images  in  the  attempt  to  represent  Him. 
We  are  taught  further  not  to  worship  any  of  the 
Lord's  creatures  as  if  they  were  gods,  and  to  remember 
that  while  the  Lord  is  good  and  gracious  to  those 
that  serve  Him  truly.  He  will  punish  those  that 
hate  Him  and  do  not  live  according  to  His  will. 

In  the  third  commandment,  we  are  taught  not 
to  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  in  vain.  This  means 
that  we  must  use  the  name  of  the  Lord  neither  in  a 
frivolous  nor  an  insincere  manner.  If  one  swears  by  the 
Lord  falsely,  or  prays  to  Him  without  sincerity  or 
devotion,  or  names  Him  when  there  is  really  no  need 
for  it,  one  takes  the  name  of  the  Lord  in  vain.  Against 
this  we  are  warned  in  the  third  commandment. 


6o  The  Faith  of  Israel 

Finally,  the  fourth  commandment  bids  us  keep 
the  Sabbath-day  holy.  Thus  we  are  meant  to  keep 
up  the  holiness  of  our  life  and  from  week  to  week  to 
renew  the  thought  of  our  relation  to  God. 

From  these  four  commandments  dealing  with  our 
duties  to  God,  we  are  led  to  the  fifth,  which  bids  us 
honor  our  father  and  mother.  They  are  given  a  place 
next  to  the  Lord,  because,  as  I  have  said,  they  act 
for  Him  on  earth,  and  every  child  owes  more  to  its 
parents  than  to  anybody  else.  The  good  father  and 
the  good  mother  provide  for  their  children,  care  for 
them  in  health  and  sickness,  look  after  their  schooling 
and  pleasures,  and  try  in  every  way  to  make  them 
happy.  It  is,  therefore,  the  duty  of  the  good  child 
to  honor  its  father  and  mother,  to  do  everything  that 
will  make  them  happy,  and  to  try  at  all  times  to  be 
to  them  a  source  of  joy  and  not  of  grief.  "A  wise 
son  maketh  a  glad  father;  but  a  foolish  son  is  the 
grief  of  his  mother".    {Proverbs  X,  i). 

Now,  let  us  examine  the  second  group  of  command- 
ments, namely,  the  remaining  five.  You  will  notice 
that  four  of  them  are  very  brief,  and  the  last — the 
tenth — is  not  long  either.  But  short  as  they  are,  they 
are  the  more  forceful.  No  one  can  possibly  fail  to 
understand  them.  They  are  plain  and  straight. 
When  we  have  once  learnt  them,  we  know  what  they 
want  us  to  do.  And  they  are  so  important,  that 
every  good  life  depends  on  them. 

What  do  they  teach  us?  They  teach  us  our  first 
duties  to  our  fellow-men.  In  the  sixth  commandment 
we  are  taught  to  respect  the  life  of  our  fellow-men. 
In  the  seventh,  we  are  taught  to  respect  their  purity. 


The  Ten  Commandments  6 1 

In  the  eighth,  we  are  taught  to  respect  their  property. 
In  the  ninth,  we  are  taught  to  respect  their  good  name. 
And,  finally,  in  the  tenth  commandment  we  are 
warned  not  to  covet  what  belongs  to  our  neighbor, 
because  coveting  is  wrong  in  itself  and,  besides,  may 
lead  to  the  breaking  of  the  other  commandments. 
Many  a  man  has  been  led  to  steal  and  murder,  be- 
cause he  coveted  what  belonged  to  others. 

The  Decalogue  has  formed  the  foundation  of  the 
Jewish  religion.  The  laws  it  contains  are  so  impor- 
tant, that  they  have  been  adopted  by  other  religions 
and  peoples.  The  life  of  the  whole  world  may  now 
be  said  to  be  ruled  by  the  laws  of  the  Decalogue.  If 
we  would  live  the  true  religious  life,  let  us  make  sure 
that  we  know  the  Ten  Commandments  and  live 
according  to  them.  Let  us  repeat  what  the  people 
said  to  Moses  when  the  Decalogue  was  first  given: 
"All  that  the  Lord  hath  spoken  we  will  do".  {Exodus 
XIX,  8). 

Questions 

(i)  What  is  the  place  of  the  Decalogue  in  the 
religious  life?  Name  some  religious  duties 
not  mentioned  in  the  Decalogue,  and  show 
how  they  are  implied  in  the  Decalogue. 

(2)  How  many  classes  of  duties  are  named  in  the 

Decalogue,  and  what  are  they?    Give  Philo's 
description. 

(3)  Give  the  contents  of  the  first   group  of  com- 

mandments.     Try    to   explain   and    illustrate 
each  of  them. 


62  The  Faith  of  Israel 

(4)  What  can  you  tell  about  the  fifth  commandment? 

(5)  Give  the  contents  of  the  second  group  of  com- 

mandments.   Why  is  the  tenth  so  important? 

(6)  Recite  the  Decalogue,  and  tell  about  its  place 

in  the  life  of  the  world. 


The  Law  of  Holiness  63 

Lesson  XV 
THE  LAW  OF  HOLINESS 


When  we  spoke  of  the  Ten  Commandments,  we 
said  that  they  formed  the  foundation  of  our  religion. 
But  they  do  not  embrace  all  of  the  Jewish  religion. 
There  are  many  things  the  good  Jew  and  Jewess  are 
expected  to  do  that  are  not  named  in  the  Decalogue. 
They  are  either  mentioned  elsewhere  in  the  Bible 
and  Jewish  literature,  or  they  are  left  to  our  con- 
science. The  latter  are  the  sort  of  duties  of  which 
our  rabbis  said  that  they  were  "assigned  to  the 
heart".  Very  often  it  is  this  kind  of  duties,  I  mean 
the  kind  left  to  our  own  conscience  or  feeling,  that  is 
the  finest. 

Now,  there  is  one  particular  command  that  was 
laid  upon  the  Jewish  people,  though  it  is  not  given  in 
the  Ten  Commandments.  Yet,  in  a  way,  it  is  the 
highest  command  found  in  the  Bible  and  forms  the 
greatest  law  of  the  Jewish  religion.  We  may  call  it 
the  noblest  ideal  which  the  Jewish  religion  has  set 
before  men.  I  refer  to  the  command  found  in  the 
Book  of  Leviticus.  "Ye  shall  be  holy;  for  I  the 
Lord  your  God  am  holy".  {Leviticus  XIX,  2).  We 
may  call  this  the  law  of  Holiness,  and  it  is  easy  to  see 
why  it  is  the  greatest  of  all  laws.  For,  if  one  tries 
to  be  holy  and  to  imitate  the  holiness  of  the  Lord, 
one  is  sure  to  try  to  observe  all  other  laws  of  the 
religious  life. 

We  may  ask,  what  does  it  mean  to  be  holy,  and, 


64  The  Faith  of  Israel 

especially,  what  does  it  mean  to  be  holy  as  God  is 
holy?  This  question  was  asked  of  some  rabbis  long 
ago,  and  the  answer  ran  as  follows:  To  be  holy 
means  to  live  a  holy  life,  and  to  be  holy  like  God 
means  to  try  to  imitate  God's  qualities.  God  is 
merciful,  compassionate,  just;  therefore,  we  should 
try  to  be  merciful,  compassionate,  and  just,  as  well 
as  to  cultivate  every  other  quality  that  we  associate 
with  God.  This  is  not  to  say  that  we  can  become 
just  like  God.  But  we  can  try.  We  can  make  the 
imitation  of  God  the  chief  ideal  of  our  life,  and  even 
if  we  do  not  succeed  altogether,  our  good  intentions 
will  speak  for  us. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  such  love  of  holiness  became 
the  highest  ideal  of  the  Jewish  people.  It  is  in  accord 
with  the  ancient  command  found  in  the  Bible  just 
before  the  Decalogue,  "Ye  shall  be  unto  me  a  kingdom 
of  priests  and  a  holy  nation".  {Exodus  XIX,  6).  The 
best  Jewish  men  and  women  have  tried  to  live  a  life 
of  holiness.  And  what  is  more,  they  have  felt  that 
by  living  a  holy  life,  they  not  only  did  their  proper 
duty,  but  also  hallowed  the  Name  of  God.  The 
good  Jew  has  felt  that  by  living  a  true  religious  life, 
and  particularly,  by  making  a  sacrifice  for  the  sake 
of  his  religion  when  called  upon  to  do  so,  he  bore 
witness  to  the  holiness  of  God,  and  even  added  to  it. 
"The  Lord  says:  'If  you  make  yourselves  holy,  I 
shall  account  it  to  you  as  if  you  had  made  Me  holy'." 
This  is  the  way  the  rabbis  expressed  it.  The  more 
holiness  among  men,  the  greater  the  holiness  of  God. 
On  the  other  hand,  whenever  a  man  did  something 
contrary    to    the    Jewish    religion,    and    particularly 


The  Law  of  Holiness  65 

something  of  a  shameful  nature,  it  was  felt  that  he 
desecrated  the  Name  of  God.  An  act  that  meant 
the  hallowing  of  the  Divine  Name  was  called  in 
Hebrew  Kiddush  Ha-Shem,  and  an  act  desecrating 
the  Name  of  God  was  called  Hillul  Ha-Shem.  No 
Jew,  worthy  of  the  name,  ever  wanted  to  be  charged 
with  Hillul  Ha-Shem,  while  it  was  considered  a  noble 
thing  to  have  done  something  for  Kiddush  Ha-Shem. 
Numerous  Jewish  martyrs,  as  history  tells  us,  have 
died  for  Hallowing  of  the  Divine  Name. 

This  still  holds  good.  One  does  not  belong  to 
the  highest  type  of  Jewish  men  and  women  by  obeying 
merely  the  Ten  Commandments.  That  is  but  the 
beginning.  Any  decent  person  now  has  that  much 
religion.  The  noblest  Jewish  men  and  women  try  to 
go  beyond  that.  They  seek  to  live  according  to  the 
law  of  holiness.  They  use  all  religious  forms  and 
practices  as  a  means  of  increasing  the  holiness  of  their 
lives;  as  we  read  in  the  Bible:  "That  ye  may  re- 
member, and  do  all  My  commandments,  and  be 
holy  unto  your  God".  {Numbers  XV,  40).  They  aim 
to  fulfil  the  old  command:  "Ye  shall  be  unto  Me  a 
kingdom  of  priests  and  a  holy  nation".  They  refrain 
from  doing  anything  that  might  mean  a  dishonor  to 
their  Religion,  a  desecration  of  the  Name  of  God, 
while  they  delight  in  every  opportunity  for  doing 
something  that  would  mean  an  honor  to  their  reli- 
gion and  a  hallowing  of  God's  Name.  Such  people 
are  the  best  Jews  and  Jewesses. 


66  The  Faith  of  Israel 

Questions 

(i)     What  is  meant  by  "duties  left  to  the  heart"? 

(2)  What  is  the  law  of  holiness?    How  does  it  com- 

pare with  the  other  laws  of  religion? 

(3)  What  does  it  mean  to  be  holy? 

(4)  What  do  we  mean  by  the  imitation  of  God? 

(5)  Tell  about  the  meaning  of  Kiddush  Ha-Shetn 

and  Hillul  Ha-Shem.t  What  do  the  words 
mean?  How  have  they  worked  in  Jewish 
history?  How  do  they  apply  to  our  own  life? 
Give  instances  of  acts  on  the  part  of  people, 
particularly  of  boys  and  girls,  involving  either 
Kiddush  or  Hillul  Ha-Shem. 

(6)  Recite    and    explain    the    Bible    verses    in    this 

lesson. 


The  Holy  Days  67 

Lesson  XVI 
THE  HOLY  DAYS 


The  observance  of  the  Holy  Days  forms  an  im- 
portant part  of  our  reHgious  Hfe.  If  we  examine 
the  various  Jewish  festivals  carefully,  we  shall  find 
that  each  of  them  conveys  some  particular  meaning. 
None  the  less,  there  are  certain  things  which  they 
all  have  in  common,  and  those  we  must  bear  in  mind 
if  we  would  observe  our  festivals  properly. 

First,  all  our  holy  days  are  meant  to  give  us  rest 
from  our  daily  work.  Now,  work  is  one  of  the  chief 
duties  of  life.  It  is  the  duty  of  all  to  do  some  kind 
of  work.  Nothing  is  more  dangerous  than  idleness. 
It  wastes  our  powers.  It  is  the  mother  of  many  vices. 
One  pities  a  young  man  who  goes  about  doing  nothing. 
Nor  can  anything  worth  while  and  honorable  be 
gained  without  toil.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  work 
without  occasional  rest  also  is  bad.  It  must  weaken 
our  body  and  stunt  our  mind.  Our  holy  days,  there- 
fore, are  intended  to  afford  us  rest  every  now  and 
then  from  our  daily  work. 

Secondly,  the  object  of  our  holy  days  is  to  turn 
our  thoughts  to  religion,  with  its  joys  and  duties. 
As  we  go  along  from  day  to  day,  with  our  minds 
fixed  on  work  and  play,  we  are  very  apt  to  grow  lax 
in  our  religious  life.  Even  the  strongest  and  most 
loyal  need  to  refresh  their  mind  and  interest.  That 
is  what  the  holy  days  are  meant  to  do.     Each  in  its 


68  The  Faith  of  Israel 

own  way  seeks  to  quicken  us  anew  and  fill  us  with 
fresh  fervor  and  loyalty. 

And,  thirdly,  each  holy  day  offers  a  special  oppor- 
tunity for  divine  worship.  Worship,  of  course,  is  a 
daily  duty.  Every  day  something  happens  for  which 
we  owe  thanks  to  the  Lord.  Every  day  we  need  His 
assistance.  Every  day  it  is  proper  to  pray  for  His 
help  and  guidance.  But  there  are  certain  seasons 
when  for  one  reason  or  another  it  is  proper  to  offer 
special  acts  of  worship.  It  may  be  because  some 
great  event  of  the  past  is  recalled,  or  because  some 
marked  change  has  taken  place  in  the  life  of  Nature. 
One  or  the  other  of  these  things  is  connected  with 
our  holy  days.  That  is  why  they  invite  to  special 
acts  of  divine  worship. 

Let  us  consider  our  leading  Jewish  holy  days. 

First,  of  course,  comes  the  Sabbath.  The  ob- 
servance of  the  Sabbath  has  always  been  one  of  the 
first  Jewish  duties.  The  fact  that  one  of  the  Ten 
Commandments  is  devoted  entirely  to  it,  is  enough 
to  show  how  sacred  it  is.  "Ye  shall  keep  My  Sabbaths, 
and  reverence  My  sanctuary:  I  am  the  Lord". 
{Leviticus  XIX,  30). 

Next  we  name  the  three  great  historical  festivals: 
Passover  (or  PESAH),  Weeks  (or  SHABUOTH), 
and  Tabernacles  (or  SUKKOTH).  Passover  is 
observed  in  memory  of  the  deliverance  of  Israel  from 
Egypt;  and,  also,  in  honor  of  the  coming  of  spring. 
Weeks  is  kept  in  memory  of  the  Revelation,  or  the 
giving  of  the  Law  at  Sinai,  and,  also,  in  honor  of  the 
early  harvest.  And  Tabernacles  is  observed  in 
memory  of  the  sojourn  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness 


The  Holy  Days  69 

and  the  Lord's  kind  Providence  during  that  period, 
and,  also,  in  honor  of  the  late  harvest.  Thus,  we  see 
that  each  of  these  three  historical  festivals  has  a 
double  meaning;  one  taken  from  the  history  of  Israel 
and  the  other  from  the  life  of  Nature.  In  ancient 
times  these  were  the  feasts  of  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem. 

Then,  there  is  the  Solemn  Season.  It  comes  in 
the  fall  of  the  year,  and  lasts  ten  days.  It  begins 
with  the  Day  of  the  New  Year,  or  ROSH  HA- 
SH AN  A,  and  ends  with  the  Day  of  Atonement,  or 
YOM  KIPPUR.  These  holy  days  refer  not  to  any 
particular  events  in  history,  but  to  the  life  of  each  one 
of  us.  Their  aim  is  to  have  each  one  of  us  look  into 
his  and  her  own  conduct,  in  order  to  find  out  where 
we  have  failed  and  to  try  to  do  better  in  the  future. 
These  days  form  a  season  of  prayer,  penitence,  and 
resolution.  That  is  why  they  are  called  the  Solemn 
Season  {Yamim  Noraim),  or  the  Ten  Days  of  Peni- 
tence {Asereth   Y'me  T'shuhah). 

Nor  must  we  forget  the  feasts  of  Hanukkah  and 
Purim.  The  former  begins  on  the  25th  day  of  Kislev 
and  lasts  eight  days,  and  is  observed  in  honor  of  the 
Maccabean  victory.  The  latter  falls  on  the  14th 
day  of  Adar,  and  marks  the  deliverance  of  the  Jews 
of  Persia,  in  the  days  of  King  Ahasuerus,  thanks  to 
the  efforts  of  Queen  Esther  and  Mordecai,  from 
Haman,  the  enemy  of  the  Jews,  and  his  followers. 
Both  these  festivals  serve  to  remind  us  of  the  many 
perils  that  the  Jewish  people  have  had  to  face,  and  of 
the  heroism  of  our  fathers,  by  means  of  which  they 
have  always  come  out  victorious. 

If  we  are  careful  to  keep  all  our  holy  days  in  the 


70  The  Failk  of  Israel 

proper  way,  they  will  be  sure  to  inspire  us  with  love 
for  our  faith  and  for  the  heroic  history  of  our  people. 
They  will  help  us  to  enter  ever  more  deeply  into  the 
meaning  of  our  Religion  and  our  duties.  They  will 
deepen  our  devotion  to  God  and  to  Israel.  They  will 
fill  our  lives  with  the  joy  of  faith.  But  if  we  neglect 
our  holy  days,  we  are  very  likely  to  grow  careless  of 
our  Religion,  and  to  forget  what  little  we  have  learnt. 
Some  teachers  of  the  Talmud  have  said:  "Whoever 
despises  the  holy  days,  is  like  ar  worshiper  of  idols". 
They  meant  to  say  that  he  that  neglects  the  holy 
days  is  very  apt  to  forsake  his  faith  altogether.  But 
if  we  would  remain  loyal  to  our  religion,  and  would 
learn  to  understand  it  more  and  more,  it  is  necessary 
that  we  observe  our  holy  days.  They  are  meant  to 
bring  joy,  goodness,  and  beauty  into  our  life. 

Questions 

(i)     What  are   the   things   that   all   our   holy   days 
have  in  common? 

(2)  Is  work  a  duty,  and  why?    Why  is  rest  one  of 

our  duties? 

(3)  In  what  way  do  the  holy  days  help  our  religious 

life?    Why  are  they  days  for  special  worship? 

(4)  Explain  fully  the  meaning  of  the  following  holy 

days: 

(a)  The  Sabbath. 

(b)  The  Historical  Feasts. 

(c)  The  Solemn  Season. 

(d)  Hanukkah  and  Purim. 

(5)  Why  is  observance  of  the  holy  days  important? 


The  Jewish  Calendar  71 

Lesson  XVII 
THE  JEWISH  CALENDAR 


In  order  to  be  able  to  observe  our  holy  days 
properly,  we  must  know  the  Jewish  calendar.  It 
differs  from  the  one  in  common  use  in  several  respects, 
and  as  all  our  holy  days  are  fixed  according  to  it,  it 
is  easy  to  see  that  to  know  it  is  for  us  very  important. 

First  of  all,  the  Jewish  calendar  reckons  the  day 
not  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  but  from  evening  to 
evening.  It  follows  the  example  set  in  the  biblical 
story  of  the  Creation,  where  we  read  as  follows: 
"And  there  was  evening  and  there  was  morning, 
one  day".  {Genesis  I,  5).  The  day,  according  to  the 
Jewish  calendar,  thus  includes  both  what  we  call 
day  and  what  we  call  night.  It  covers  twenty-four 
hours,  from  one  evening  to  the  next.  The  evening 
begins  when  three  stars  can  be  plainly  seen  in  the 
skies.  The  day,  therefore,  begins  and  ends  when  the 
stars  have  come  out.  In  the  case  of  Sabbath  or  holy 
day,  that  is  when  it  opens  and  closes. 

Seven  days  form  a  week.  In  the  Jewish  calendar 
the  days  have  no  special  name,  but  are  called,  accord- 
ing to  their  order,  the  first  day,  the  second  day,  and 
so  forth,  to  the  seventh  day.  The  seventh  day  is 
called  the  Sabbath,  while  the  sixth  day,  or  Friday,  is 
called  the  Eve  of  Sabbath  (in  Hebrew  EREBH 
SHABBATH)  and  Saturday  night  is  called  the 
Closing  of  Sabbath  (in  Hebrew  MOTZAE  SHAB- 
BATH). 


72  The  Faith  of  Israel 

The  Sabbaths  are  known  by  the  name  of  the 
section  of  the  Torah  read  in  the  Synagogue.  The 
Torah  is  divided  into  54  sections,  one  of  which  is  read 
on  each  Sabbath.  Each  section  is  called  Sidra.  In 
many  synagogues  only  a  selection  from  the  Sidra  is 
read.  But  in  any  event  the  Sabbath  is  called  by  the 
Hebrew  name  of  that  week's  Sidra.  But  several 
Sabbaths  in  the  year  have  a  special  meaning  and 
special  name.     They  are  as  follows: 

(i)  SHABBATH  BERESHITH:  the  Sabbath 
of  the  Beginning.  This  is  the  first  Sabbath  after  the 
feast  of  Tabernacles,  when  the  reading  of  the  Torah 
starts  anew  from  the  beginning. 

(2)  SHABBATH  ZAKOR:  the  Sabbath  of 
Remembrance.  This  is  the  Sabbath  before  Purim, 
when  the  attack  of  Am^alek  on  Israel  is  recalled,  and 
we  prepare  for  the  observance  of  Purim,  as  Haman 
is  said  to  have  been  a  descendant  of  Amalek. 

(3)  SHABBATH  HA-GADOL:  the  Great  Sab- 
bath.  This  is  the  Sabbath  before  Passover  when  we 
prepare  for  the  great  festival  of  Passover. 

(4)  SHABBATH  NAHEMU:  the  Sabbath  of 
Consolation.  This  is  the  Sabbath  following  the  Ninth 
of  Ab,  the  day  of  the  destruction  of  the  Temple  and 
the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  and  it  is  meant  for  the  consola- 
tion and  encouragement  of  Israel. 

(5)  SHABBATH  SHUBAH:  the  Sabbath  of 
Repentance.  This  is  the  Sabbath  between  Rosh 
Ha-Shana  and  Yom  Kippur,  and  is  meant  to  stir 
within  us  thoughts  of  penitence  and  the  desire  to 
make  our  life  better  and  nobler  than  in  the  past. 

From  the  week  we  pass  on  to  the  month.     Here, 


The  Jewish  Calendar  73 

again,  the  Jewish  calendar  is  peculiar.  The  month  is 
regulated  not  by  the  sun,  but  by  the  moon.  It  takes 
the  moon  twenty-nine  and  a  half  days  to  run  its 
course  around  the  earth.  This  period  is  called  a 
month  in  the  Jewish  calendar.  But  as  it  would  be 
inconvenient  in  practice  to  have  one-half  of  a  day 
belong  to  one  month  and  the  other  half  of  the  same 
day  to  another  month,  the  Jewish  month  has  either 
twenty-nine  or  thirty  days.  In  one  case  it  is  called 
a  defective  month,  in  the  other,  a  full  month.  The 
appearance  of  the  new  moon  marks  the  beginning 
of  the  month.  In  ancient  times  the  day  of  the  New 
Moon  was  a  half  holiday.  A  month  thus  regulated 
by  the  course  of  the  moon  is  called  a  lunar  month 
("lunar"  meaning  moon),  and  twelve  such  months 
form  a  lunar  year. 

In  ancient  Palestine,  the  New  Moon  was  fixed 
by  actual  observation.  In  order  to  avoid  confusion, 
the  chief  of  the  Sanhedrin,  with  two  other  members, 
was  given  the  right  to  announce  the  appearance  of 
the  New  Moon.  But  even  then  certain  rules  must 
have  existed  by  which  observation  was  tested  as  to 
whether  it  was  correct  or  no.  In  the  course  of  time, 
however,  it  became  more  and  more  difficult  to  depend 
on  observation  for  the  fixing  of  the  New  Moon,  and 
to  spread  the  news  among  Jews  living  far  from 
Palestine.  This  was  particularly  the  case  in  times  of 
persecution.  Therefore,  calculation  based  on  the 
science  of  astronomy  took  the  place  of  observation, 
and  the  calendar  was  fixed  for  all  time.  Thus,  the 
Jews,  no  matter  how  far  apart  they  lived,  knew  that 
they  all  had   the  same  calendar  and  were  able  to 


74  The  Faith  of  Israel 

observe  their  holy  days  at  the  same  time.  The 
permanent  calendar  was  fixed  by  Hillel  II,  head  of 
the  Sanhedrin,  about  the  year  360  C.  E. 

As  the  days  of  the  week  have  no  special  names 
in  the  Jewish  calendar,  so  originally  the  months  had 
none.  They  were  known  as  the  first  month,  the 
second  month,  and  so  on.  In  the  Bible  some  months 
are  mentioned  by  special  names,  as  follows:  the  first 
month  is  called  ABIB  {Exodus  XXIII,  15),  the  second 
—ZIV  (I  Kings  VI,  i),  the  seventh.— ETHAN  I M 
(I  Kings  VIII,  2),  and  the  eighth— 5 t/L  (I  Kings 
VI,  38).  But  if  all  the  other  months  had  special 
names  in  most  ancient  times,  there  is  no  trace  of 
them.  It  was  when  the  Jews  lived  in  Babylon  that 
they  adopted  names  for  their  months  from  the  Bab- 
ylonian calendar.  Those  names  have  come  down  to 
us.     They  are  as  follows: 


I. 

Nisan 

VII. 

Tishri 

II. 

lyyar 

VIII. 

Heshwan 

III. 

Siwan 

IX. 

Kislev 

IV. 

Tamuz 

X. 

Tebet 

V. 

Ab 

XI. 

Shebat 

VI. 

Ellul 

XII. 

Adar 

Although  the  Jewish  year  is  thus  reckoned  by 
lunar  months,  it  was  provided  that  the  first  month 
should  be  in  the  spring.  It  is  the  month  in  which  the 
children  of  Israel  were  delivered  from  Egypt.  "This 
month  shall  be  unto  you  the  beginning  of  months; 
it  shall  be  the  first  month  of  the  year  to  you".  {Exodus 
XII,  2).  And  as  the  lunar  year  is  about  eleven  days 
shorter  than  the  solar  year  (or  the  year  regulated  b}' 


The  Jewish  Calendar 


75 


the  sun),  the  difference  is  wiped  out  every  two  or 
three  years  by  the  addition  of  a  month  after  the 
twelfth  month.  If  this  were  not  done,  the  first  month 
would  some  years  fall  in  the  winter.  Years  that  have 
such  a  month  added  are  called  leap-years.  At  first 
the  Sanhedrin  had  the  right  to  announce  every  year 
whether  it  was  to  be  a  leap-year  or  a  common  year, 
and  it  was  done  by  actual  observation  of  the  signs  of 
spring.  But  in  the  course  of  time  this  matter,  also, 
was  figured  out  by  the  aid  of  astronomy,  and  the 
sequence  of  common  and  leap-years  laid  down  per- 
manently. The  name  of  an  additional  month  in  a 
leap-year  is  Adar  Sheni  (or  We-Adar),  meaning 
"Second  Adar".  While  in  the  calendar  Nisan  is 
counted  as  the  first  month,  in  practical  life  Tishri 
came  to  be  treated  as  such,  because  it  opens  with  the 
Holy  Day  of  the  New  Year. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  leading  Jewish  holy 
days  and  their  dates: 


Nisan 

14 

Eve  of  Passover 

15 

First  Day  of  Passover 

21 

Seventh  Day  of  Passover 

Sivan 

6 

Shabuoth  or  Weeks 

Ab 

9 

Ninth  of  Ab 

Tishri 

I 

New  Year 

10 

Day  of  Atonement 

15 

First  Day  of  Tabernacles 

22 

Eighth  Day  of  Tabernacles 

23 

Rejoicing    of    the    Law  (Simhath 
Torah) 

Kislev 

25 

Hanukkah 

76  The  Faith  of  Israel 

Adar  14     Purim 

(We-Adar    14     Purim  in  leap-years) 

Questions 

(i)     Why    is    knowledge    of    the    Jewish    calendar 
important? 

(2)  In  what  ways  does  the  Jewish  calendar  differ 

from  the  one  in  common  use? 

(3)  How  are  the  days  named  in  the  Jewish  calen- 

dar? How  are  the  Sabbaths  named?  Can 
you  give  the  special  Sabbaths? 

(4)  What    determines    the    month    in    the    Jewish 

calendar?  What  is  a  lunar  month?  How  was 
the  new  moon  fixed?  Who  finally  fixed  the 
Jewish  calendar?     What  was  the  Sanhedrin? 

(5)  Why   is   a   leap-year   necessary   in    the   Jewish 

calendar?  How  is  a  year  turned  into  a  leap- 
year? 

(6)  Give  the  names  and  the  dates  of  the  leading 

Jewish  holy  days. 


The  Reward  of  a  Good  Life  TJ 

Lesson  XVIII 
THE  REWARD  OF  A  GOOD  LIFE 


The  right  kind  of  people  will  try  to  live  a  good  life 
for  its  own  sake.  Their  chief  aim  will  be  to  become 
good  men  and  women,  rather  than  to  obtain  some 
special  reward  for  their  goodness.  An  old  Jewish 
teacher  has  left  us  the  following  precept  in  regard  to 
the  religious  life:  "Be  not  like  servants  who  serve 
their  master  in  order  to  receive  a  reward,  but  like- 
servants  who  serve  their  master  without  expectation 
of  reward". 

In  this  spirit  the  noblest  men  and  women  have 
lived  and  worked.  Think  of  Moses;  think  of  Isaiah; 
think  of  Hillel;  think  of  Abraham  Lincoln!  They 
were  men  who  sought  to  make  their  life  good,  true, 
and  pure  without  expecting  any  special  compensa- 
tion. When  Moses  follows  the  Divine  command  to 
free  Israel  from  bondage,  he  does  not  do  so  for  the 
sake  of  any  reward,  but  rather  in  order  to  do  what  is 
right.  A  similar  motive  prompts  Isaiah  in  his  work 
as  a  prophet,  and  Hillel  as  a  teacher,  and  Lincoln  as 
a  patriot.  Each  of  them  seeks  to  do  the  right  for 
its  own  sake.  And  the  same  may  be  said  of  all  other 
truly  great  and  noble  men. 

None  the  less,  it  is  true  that  the  good  life  does 
bring  its  reward,  just  as  the  evil  life  brings  penalties. 
Each  one  of  us  is  responsible  for  his  own  life,  and  we 
cannot  escape  its  consequences.     There   is    a   great 


78  The  Faith  of  Israel 

difTerence  between  the  life  that  is  carried  on  in 
accordance  with  the  teachings  of  rehgion  and  that 
from  which  rehgion  is  shut  out.  The  godly  life  has 
compensations  that  an  ungodly  life  does  not  contain ; 
and  I  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  some  of  them. 

First  of  all,  the  reward  of  a  godly  life  is  that  it  is 
richer  than  the  ungodly  life,  that  it  contains  more 
inner  beauty  and  worth.  We  must  all  agree  that  the 
more  wisdom,  knowledge,  and  goodness  we  try  to 
put  into  life,  the  richer  it  will  become.  We  cannot 
help  realizing  that  there  is  more  in  the  life  of  a  person 
who  strives  all  the  time  to  improve  his  mind  and  heart, 
than  in  the  life  of  one  who  does  not  care  how  he  lives 
and  what  the  condition  of  his  heart  and  mind  rnay 
be.  The  life  of  Amos,  of  Rabbi  Akiba,  of  I/ioses 
Mendelssohn,  was  full  of  riches,  because  they  sought 
to  live  in  a  godly  way.  Such  riches  will  be  the  reward 
of  all  who  try  to  live  in  accordance  with  the  teachings 
of  religion.  Their  life  will  not  be  a  mere  existence, 
like  that  of  unthinking  animals;  but  it  will  be  a  rich, 
beautiful,  joyous  life.  "Ye  shall  therefore  keep  My 
statutes  and  Mine  ordinances;"  we  read  in  Leviticus, 
"which  if  a  man  do,  he  shall  live  by  them".  {Leviticus 
XVIII,  5).  We  may  construe  this  to  mean  that  we 
really  live  only  insofar  as  we  fulfil  the  objects  of  re- 
ligion. That  is  what  makes  the  richest  and  most 
joyous  life.  Therefore,  the  Psalmist  says:  "Thou 
hast  put  gladness  in  my  heart,  more  than  when 
their  corn  and  their  wine  increase".  {Psalm  IV,  8). 
And,  again:  "I  love  Thy  commandments  above  gold, 
yea,  above  fine  gold!"    {Psalm  CXIX,  127). 

A  beautiful  illustration  we  find  in  the  dream  of 


The  Reward  of  a  Good  Life  79 

King  Solomon,  related  in  the  Bible  (I  Kings  III, 
5-15).  Solomon  was  still  young  at  the  time.  He 
loved  the  Lord  and  tried  to  follow  in  the  footsteps 
of  his  father.  When  the  Lord,  in  the  dream,  offered 
to  give  him  whatever  he  asked,  Solomon  asked  for 
an  understanding  heart,  that  he  might  discern  between 
good  and  evil.  He  did  not  ask  for  riches,  nor  for 
power,  nor  for  a  long  life,  but  for  wisdom,  the  sort 
of  wisdom  that  would  lead  to  goodness.  It  is  true 
that  Solomon  became  a  very  rich  and  mighty  king. 
But  his  wisdom  was  his  greatest  wealth.  It  put 
more  beauty  and  riches  into  his  life  than  could  come 
from  any  other  form  of  wealth.  When  Solomon 
forgot  the  wisdom  of  goodness,  which  he  had  loved 
so  dearly  as  a  young  man,  all  his  other  riches  was  of 
no  use;    it  lost  its  lustre. 

Then,  the  reward  of  a  religious  life  is  health  and 
happiness.  Here  we  have  two  gifts  that  all  people 
want:  health  and  happiness.  But  the  surest  way  of 
securing  them  is  to  follow  the  teachings  of  religion. 
There  are  many  people  who  have  lost  both  their 
health  and  happiness  by  living  an  ungodly  life.  If 
we  do  wrong,  we  cannot  be  happy.  If  we  live  a  life 
of  vice,  we  cannot  be  healthy.  The  more  we  cling 
to  right  and  virtue,  to  what  is  true,  pure,  and  upright, 
the  more  certain  we  can  be  of  enjoying  health  and 
happiness.  Of  course,  the  best  of  people  at  times 
are  sorely  tried  by  misfortune  and  illness.  But  even 
then  they  have  the  inward  happiness  that  comes 
from  a  right  life.  The  more  godly  a  life  we  live,  the 
more  health  and  happiness  will  be  ours.  "Great 
peace  have  they  that  love  Thy  law,"  says  the  Psalm- 


8o  The  Faith  of  Israel 

ist,   "and   there  is   no  stumbling   for  them".  {Psalm 
CXIX,  165). 

And,  lastly,  those  that  have  lived  a  godly  life  on 
earth  are  sure  of  their  reward  when  they  have  passed 
away.  While  we  are  young,  we  do  not  often  think  of 
death.  At  the  same  time,  we  know  full  well  that 
some  time  or  other  we  must  all  leave  this  earth. 
We  all  have  some  dear  ones  who  have  gone  before  us. 
What  awaits  us  after  death,  we  do  not  know.  But 
this  we  do  know,  that  the  Spirit  lives  on  and  none 
need  be  afraid  of  death  who  has  lived  in  a  godly  way, 
for  his  reward  will  surely  be  according  to  the  good 
and  pure  life  he  has  sought  to  live.  "Light  is  sown  for 
the  righteous,"  says  the  Psalmist,  "and  gladness  for 
the  upright  in  heart".  {Psalm  XCVII,  11).  The  godly 
person  can  pass  into  death  without  fear,  saying  with 
the  old  Jewish  poet: 

"I  place  my  soul  within  His  palm 
Before  I  sleep  as  when  I  wake, 
And  though  my  body  I  forsake. 
Rest  in  the  Lord  in  fearless  calm." 

Questions 

(i)     What  is  the   noblest  reason  for  living  a  good 
life?     Can  you  give  some  examples? 

(2)  What  are  the  rewards  of  a  religious  life? 

(3)  What  is  a  truly  rich  life? 

(4)  How  does  goodness  affect  our  happiness?    Can 

you  give  examples? 


The  Reward  of  a  Good  Life  8i 

(5)  How  is  goodness  related  to  death?     Can  you  tell 

of  some  good  men  or  women  dying  bravely? 

(6)  (a)  Tell  and  explain  the  dream  of  Solomon, 
(b)  Tell  something  about  the  life  and  the  work 

of  the  noble  men  named  in  this  lesson. 


82  The  Faith  of  Israel 

Lesson  XIX 
THE  GLORY  OF  JEWISH  HISTORY 


Who  is  there  that  does  not  care  to  read  history? 
There  may  be  people  that  do  not  care  for  mathe- 
matics, or  Latin,  or  physics,  but  almost  everybody 
likes  to  read  history.  A  knowledge  of  history  is 
necessary  for  any  one  who  wants  to  understand  the 
world  he  lives  in  and  the  people  to  which  he  belongs. 
What  intelligent  American,  for  example,  would  get 
along  without  some  knowledge  of  the  history  of  his 
country?  The  greater  our  history,  the  prouder  we 
are  of  it,  and  the  more  we  can  learn  from  it. 

How  very  true  is  this  of  Jewish  history!  There  is 
no  history  so  wonderful  as  that  of  the  Jewish  people; 
none  so  full  of  lessons  for  the  present,  and  particu- 
larly for  those  who  aim  to  live  the  life  of  good  Jews 
and  Jewesses.  One  cannot  be  a  good  Jew  without 
some  knowledge  of  the  great  past  of  Israel.  Indeed, 
we  may  say  that  our  history  is  our  most  glorious 
possession. 

What  is  it,  you  will  ask,  that  forms  the  glory  of 
our  Jewish  history?  This  question  I  shall  now  try 
to  answer. 

First,  there  is  the  length  of  Jewish  history.  It 
is  surely  glorious  for  a  people  to  have  been  able  to 
live  on  for  a  very  long  period  of  time.  "The  hoary 
head  is  a  crown  of  glory" — thus  the  Bible  speaks 
of  an    aged  person    {Prov.  XVI,  31).    Does  not    a 


The  Glory  of  Jeivish  History  83 

similar  erown  of  glory  rest  on  the  head  of  an  ancient 
people?  Especially,  when  we  think  of  so  many  other 
peoples,  once  strong  and  mighty,  that  perished  while 
this  one  people  has  lived  on.  That  is  just  what 
Jewish  history  relates.  For  thousands  of  years  the 
Jewish  people  has  lived  on;  in  many  countries  and 
under  all  kinds  of  conditions.  Many  of  their  neighbors 
succumbed,  such  as  the  Babylonians,  the  Assyrians, 
the  Egyptians,  the  Romans,  and  others  of  whom 
we  read  in  history;  they  all  fell;  but  the  Jewish 
people  has  continued  to  this  very  day. 

Then,  there  is  the  heroism  of  Jewish  history.  We 
hear  about  heroism  in  the  history  of  other  peoples. 
There  is  the  heroism  of  the  Spartans,  for  instance. 
But  no  history  is  so  full  of  it  as  that  of  Israel.  Jewish 
history  throbs  with  heroism  in  every  period  and  place. 
It  is  full  of  heroic  thoughts  and  heroic  deeds.  Moses 
was  a  hero,  Joshua  was  a  hero,  Deborah,  Jeremiah, 
the  Maccabees,  Akiba — they  were  all  heroes,  though 
each  in  a  different  way.  These  are  but  a  few  names 
out  of  an  endless  number  that  might  be  given.  Nor 
has  Jewish  heroism  been  confined  to  a  few  great 
individuals  here  and  there.  The  whole  people  of 
Israel  has  been  heroic.  Indeed,  it  is  impossible  to 
be  a  true  Jew  without  being  a  hero.  There  were 
always  Jewish  men  and  women  ready  to  act  like 
heroes  when  it  was  a  question  of  preserving  their 
sacred  faith.  Jewish  history  is  full  of  martyrs.  In- 
deed, at  times  whole  communities  became  martyrs 
for  the  sake  of  their  faith,  as  happened  in  Spain,  for 
example.  That  was  considered  the  highest  form  of 
Kiddush    Ha-Shem,   while   to   act   the   coward   was 


84  The  Faith  of  Israel 

called  Hillul  Ha-Shem.  The  heroism  of  Jewish 
history  is  one  of  its  glories. 

Finally,  we  must  think  of  the  purpose  of  Jewish 
history.  For  what  object  has  the  Jew  sought  to  live 
on?  The  glory  of  a  people  depends  mainly  on  the 
purpose  for  which  it  lives.  Is  there  not  a  difference 
between  a  people  whose  sole  purpose  is  to  get  a  great 
deal  of  wealth,  or  to  seize  many  lands,  and  a  people 
whose  chief  aim  is  to  develop  upright,  educated,  and 
happy  men  and  women?  When  we  read  the  story  of 
the  settlement  of  America,  we  learn  something  about 
this  difference;  some  came  here  merely  to  get  the 
wealth  of  the  country,  while  others  came  to  escape 
from  the  tyranny  of  the  Old  World,  ready  to  work 
hard  for  liberty  and  happiness. 

Therefore,  I  say,  the  purpose  of  Jewish  history 
is  the  chief  part  of  its  glory.  What  has  it  been?  No 
one  has  summed  it  up  so  well  as  the  Prophet  Isaiah 
of  Babylon.  "Ye  are  My  witnesses,  saith  the  Lord, 
and  My  servant  whom  I  have  chosen".  {Isaiah 
XLIII,  lo).  Here  we  have  a  clear  description  of 
Israel's  purpose.  The  Jews  are  God's  witnesses; 
they  are  His  servants;  they  are  meant  to  know  God, 
to  understand  and  believe  Him,  and  to  proclaim 
Him  in  the  world.  They  are  meant  to  serve  God  in 
the  world  and  to  advance  the  cause  of  Righteousness. 
And  when  we  read  our  history,  we  find  that  is  what 
the  Jews  have  lived  for  as  a  people.  How  often  have 
not  the  Jews  been  willing  to  suffer  persecution,  to 
sacrifice  their  possessions,  even  to  abandon  their 
homes  and  go  into  exile,  rather  than  give  up  their 


The  Glory  of  Jewish  History  85 

faith?     A  history  with  such  a  purpose  behind  it  is 
certainly  the  most  glorious  in  the  world. 

"The  hoary  head  is  a  crown  of  glory,  it  is  found 
in  the  way  of  righteousness."  The  last  half  of  this 
verse,  as  well  as  the  first,  we  may  apply  to  the  Jewish 
people.  Its  history  is  made  glorious  by  its  old  age, 
by  its  heroism,  as  well  as  by  the  righteous  purpose 
that  has  inspired  it  through  the  long  ages.  It  is  a 
record  that  must  needs  inspire  us,  too. 

Questions 

(i)     What  makes  history  a  valuable  study?    Why  is 
Jewish  history  especially  valuable  to  us? 

(2)  What  forms  the  glory  of  Jewish  history?     De- 

scribe the  three  features  named  in  the  lesson, 
and  give  others  if  you  can. 

(3)  Why  is  there  any  glory  in  the  old  age,  (a)  of  an 

individual,  (b)  of  a  people?  Try  to  think  of 
some  reasons,  and  apply  them  to  the  Jewish 
people. 

(4)  Why   do    we    admire    heroes?      Can    you    give 

instances  of  Jewish  heroism,  (a)  on  the  part  of 
individuals,  and  (b)  on  the  part  of  the  whole 
people? 

(5)  In  what  way  has  the  purpose  of  Israel  made  for 

the  glory  of  his  history?  President  Wilson 
has  said:  "America  came  into  existence  not 
in  order  to  show  the  world  the  most  notable 
example  it  has  ever  had  of  the  accumula- 
tion and  use  of  material  wealth,  but  in  order  to 


86  The  Faith  of  Israel 

show  the  way  to  mankind  in  every  part  of  the 
world  to  justice,  and  freedom,  and  liberty". 
Can  you  explain  these  words?  And  can  you 
bring  out  in  a  similar  way  the  purpose  for 
which  Israel  was  created? 


The  Messianic  Hope  87 

Lesson  XX 
THE  MESSIANIC  HOPE 


We  all  know  that  the  greatest  Jewish  teachers 
were  the  Prophets.  Though  we  have  had  a  long 
chain  of  teachers  and  leaders  since  the  days  of  Amos 
and  Isaiah,  of  Micah  and  Jeremiah,  and  the  other 
Prophets,  none  has  equaled  them  in  importance. 
But  they  were  great  not  only  because  they  taught 
the  people  of  their  age  the  lessons  of  life  and  duty, 
but  also  because  of  their  noble  ideas  and  hopes  con- 
cerning the  future  of  the  human  race.  This  latter 
side  of  the  work  of  the  Prophets  we  shall  now  consider, 

A  great  deal  in  the  life  of  every  man,  we  must 
agree,  depends  on  his  view  of  the  future.  Our  work, 
our  ambitions,  our  efforts  are  ruled  by  the  sort  of 
future  we  place  before  ourselves.  Boys  and  girls  at 
school,  young  people  at  college,  are  guided  in  the 
choice  of  their  studies  and  the  manner  of  their  work 
by  what  they  expect  to  be  and  do  in  days  to  come. 
The  higher  and  nobler  a  future  a  man  makes  his  goal, 
the  harder  he  will  work  and  the  more  nobly  he  will 
strive  to  live.  On  the  other  hand,  a  man  indififerent 
to  his  future,  will  be  careless  of  his  work  and  conduct 
in  the  present.  And  this  rule  holds  good,  also,  in 
the  case  of  a  people,  a  religious  community,  and  the 
whole  human  race.  The  nobler  a  future  they  set 
before  themselves,  and  strive  to  attain,  the  nobler  a 
life  they  will  naturally  try  to  live.    And  the  greatest 


88  The  Faith  of  Israel 

leaders  of  the  human  race  are  those  that  make  it 
look  forward  to  the  noblest  future. 

Now,  it  was  one  of  the  chief  merits  of  the  Prophets 
that  they  not  only  taught  the  men  and  women  of 
their  time  the  lessons  of  righteous  conduct,  but  also 
inspired  them  with  the  noblest  dream  of  the  future. 
This  dream  and  hope  the  Prophets  pictured  for  their 
people  time  and  again,  in  words  of  rare  fervor  and 
eloquence,  and  urged  them  to  live  in  such  a  way  as 
to  render  such  a  future  possible,  to  make  the  golden 
dream  a  reality.  Moreover,  the  Prophets  believed 
that  Israel  was  especially  anointed  by  God  to  work 
in  the  world  in  behalf  of  such  a  future,  and  that 
every  individual  working  toward  that  end  is  God's 
anointed,  or,  according  to  the  Hebrew  word  for 
"anointed",  God's  Messiah  (in  Hebrew,  Mashiah). 
Hence,  the  Prophets'  hope  of  the  future  has  been 
called  the  Messianic  Hope,  and  the  future  to  which 
they  looked  forward  and  sought  to  inspire  the  human 
race  is  named  the  Messianic  Future. 

In  this  connection,  the  Prophets  used  a  term  that 
had  been  known  long  in  Jewish  history  and  has  been 
used  much  since,  though  men  have  differed  as  to  its 
true  meaning.  I  refer  to  the  word  Messiah.  As  has 
just  been  said,  the  word  comes  from  the  Hebrew 
Mashiah  and  means  "the  Anointed".  To  whom  was 
this  word  first  applied?  We  need  only  turn  to  our 
Bible  to  answer  this  question.  Originally,  every  king 
of  Israel  was  called  "the  Anointed"  (or  the  Messiah), 
because  he  was  anointed  with  oil  when  he  was  made 
king.  We  recall  how  Samuel,  for  instance,  poured 
oil  on  the  head  of  Saul  and  of  David  as  a  symbol  of 


The  Messianic  Hope  89 

their  choice.  Every  king  of  Israel,  thus,  was  called 
the  Messiah,  In  the  course  of  time,  when  the  Jews 
were  suffering  adversities  and  had  no  king  of  their 
own,  many  looked  forward  to  a  king  who  would  come 
and  end  their  troubles.  Naturally,  they  referred  to 
this  prince  of  their  hope  as  the  future  Messiah.  It 
was  at  a  time  of  such  expectation  that  the  Christians 
arose,  saying  that  the  Jewish  hope  had  been  fulfilled, 
that  the  Messiah  (or  as  the  Greek  form  of  the  word 
has  it,  the  Christ)  had  come,  and,  namely,  in  the  person 
of  Jesus.  The  Jews  have  never  accepted  Jesus  as 
the  Messiah.  Jesus  may  have  been  a  great  teacher, 
but  he  was  not  the  Messiah,  nor  did  he  bring  about 
the  happy  state  his  people  expected.  There  are  many 
Jews  who  still  hope  for  a  special  Messiah,  who  would 
restore  the  Jewish  kingdom.  Other  Jews  do  not 
believe  in  the  coming  of  such  a  person.  But  all  Jews 
believe  in  the  Messianic  future  that  the  Prophets 
forecast  as  the  great  goal  of  the  human  race. 

And  what  will  be  the  nature  of  this  Messianic 
future,  according  to  the  vision  of  the  Prophets?  The 
following  four  words  may  be  said  to  sum  it  up: 
Knowledge,  Righteousness,  Peace,  and  Unity. 

In  the  future  all  men,  first  of  all,  shall  know  the 
great  truths  of  religion  and  love  them  with  all  their 
heart,  and  not  depend  upon  others  to  teach  and  urge 
them.  The  knowledge  of  God  will  be  a  natural 
thing  for  every  one;  as  Jeremiah  expresses  it:  "Be- 
hold, the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  make 
a  new  covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel,  and  with  the 
house  of  Judah.  This  is  the  covenant  that  I  will 
make  with  the  house  of  Israel  after  those  days,  saith 


90  The  Faith  of  Israel 

the  Lord,  I  will  put  My  law  into  their  inward  parts, 
and  in  their  heart  will  I  write  it;  and  I  will  be  their 
God,  and  they  shall  be  My  people;  and  they  shall 
teach  no  more  every  man  his  neighbor,  and  every 
man  his  brother,  saying:  'Know  the  Lord';  for  they 
shall  all  know  Me,  from  the  least  of  them  unto  the 
greatest  of  them,  saith  the  Lord;  for  I  will  forgive 
their  iniquity,  and  their  sin  will  I  remember  no  more". 
{Jeremiah  XXXI,  31-34). 

Secondly,  in  the  future  all  will  live  a  righteous 
life,  as  a  result  of  the  knowledge  and  love  of  God. 
The  various  forms  of  wrong  and  evil  that  now  are 
found  in  the  world,  shall  cease.  Oppression  of  the 
weak,  cruelty  to  the  poor,  injustice,  hatred,  perse- 
cution, both  among  individuals  and  nations,  shall  be 
no  more.  In  their  place.  Righteousness  shall  rule. 
"And  there  shall  come  forth  a  shoot  out  of  the  stock 
of  Jesse,  and  a  twig  shall  grow  forth  out  of  his  roots. 
And  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  rest  upon  him,  the 
spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding,  the  spirit  of 
counsel  and  might,  the  spirit  of  knowledge  and  of  the 
fear  of  the  Lord.  And  his  delight  shall  be  in  the  fear 
of  the  Lord;  and  he  shall  not  judge  after  the  sight  of 
his  eyes,  neither  decide  after  the  hearing  of  his  ears; 
but  with  righteousness  shall  he  judge  the  poor,  and 
decide  with  equity  for  the  meek  of  the  land;  and  he 
shall  smite  the  land  with  the  rod  of  his  mouth,  and 
with  the  breath  of  his  lips  shall  he  slay  the  v/icked. 
And  righteousness  shall  be  the  girdle  of  his  loins,  and 
faithfulness  the  girdle  of  his  reins".  {Isaiah  XI,  1-5). 

Thirdly,  there  will  be  Peace.  "The  work  of  right- 
eousness shall  be  peace;   and  the  effect  of  righteous- 


The  Messianic  Hope  91 

ness  quietness  and  confidence  for  ever".  {Isaiah 
XXXII,  17).  The  result  of  the  ceasing  of  injustice 
and  hatred,  of  cruelty  and  oppression,  will  be  a  grow- 
ing feeling  of  friendship  among  men  and  of  fellowship 
and  peace  among  peoples.  Men  will  no  longer  be 
afraid  of  one  another,  nor  seek  to  hurt  and  destroy 
one  another,  but  will  realize  that  they  are  all  members 
of  the  same  human  race  and  try  to  help  one  another 
and  v/ork  together  for  the  good  of  all.  War  shall 
cease,  and  peace  take  its  place.  "In  the  end  of  days 
it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's 
house  shall  be  established  as  the  top  of  the  mountains, 
and  it  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills;  and  peoples 
shall  flow  unto  it.  And  many  nations  shall  go  and 
say:  'Come  ye,  and  let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain  of 
the  Lord,  and  to  the  house  of  the  God  of  Jacob;  and 
He  will  teach  us  of  His  ways,  and  we  will  walk  in 
His  paths';  for  out  of  Zion  shall  go  forth  the  law, 
and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem.  And  He 
shall  judge  between  many  peoples,  and  shall  decide 
concerning  mighty  nations  afar  off;  and  they  shall 
beat  their  swords  into  plowshares,  and  their  spears 
into  pruning-hooks;  nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword 
against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn  war  any  more. 
But  they  shall  sit  every  man  under  his  vine  and  under 
his  fig-tree;  and  none  shall  make  them  afraid." 
Again:  "And  the  wolf  shall  dwell  with  the  lamb,  and 
the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  kid;  and  the  calf 
and  the  young  lion  together;  and  a  little  child  shall 
lead  them.  They  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all 
My  holy  mountain;   for  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the 


92  The  Faith  of  Israel 

knowledge  of  the  Lord,  e.s  the  waters  cover  the  sea". 
(Micah  IV,  1-4;    Isaiah  XI,  1-9). 

And,  lastly,  this  condition  of  knowledge,  right- 
eousness, and  peace  will  tend  to  weld  the  human 
race  ever  more  together,  and  to  unite  it  in  the  worship 
of  One  God,  the  only  true  God.  Different  peoples 
shall  no  longer  call  upon  different  gods.  There  shall 
be  no  more  strife  among  the  followers  of  many  reli- 
gions as  to  whose  is  the  true  and  whose  the  false. 
But  all  shall  come  to  see  that  God  is  One,  and  His 
name  One,  and  that  He  is  the  God  of  Truth,  Right- 
eousness, and  Mercy,  whom  it  behooves  all  men  to 
worship.  "And  the  Lord  shall  be  King  over  all  the 
earth;  in  that  day  shall  the  Lord  be  One,  and  His 
name  one".  (Zechariah  XIV,  9). 

This  is  the  kind  of  future  that  the  Prophets  pic- 
tured. Such  a  condition,  they  taught,  some  day 
would  come  to  pass  among  men.  Israel  is  anointed 
to  help  bring  it  to  pass;  he  is  the  Messiah  of  the 
Lord;  he  is  the  Servant  of  the  Lord.  "Behold  my 
servant,  whom  I  uphold;  Mine  elect,  in  whom  My 
soul  delighteth;  I  have  put  My  spirit  upon  him,  he 
shall  make  the  right  to  go  forth  to  the  nations.  He 
shall  not  fail  nor  be  crushed,  till  he  have  set  the  right 
in  the  earth;  and  the  isles  shall  wait  for  his  teaching". 
(Isaiah  XLII,  1-4).  This  is  the  purpose  of  Israel  in 
the  world.  And  every  man  helping  to  establish  such 
a  condition,  has  a  share  in  the  messianic  work. 

The  messianic  hope  has  played  a  great  part  in 
the  life  of  the  Jewish  people.  No  matter  how  much 
wrong  the  Jew  may  have  had  to  suffer,  there  was 
always  the  hope  for  the  golden  future  to  inspire  him 


The  Messianic  Hope  93 

with  strength  and  confidence.  Time  and  again  some 
Jews  imagined  that  the  messianic  age  had  arrived, 
and  that  some  one  individual  was  the  Messiah.  But 
we  know  that  the  messianic  age  of  the  Prophets  has 
not  yet  come.  The  world  has  not  yet  attained  to  the 
condition  of  Knowledge,  Righteousness,  Peace,  and 
Unity  that  the  Prophets  pictured  as  the  golden  future 
of  the  human  race. 

And  this  is  where  our  duty  lies.  It  is  the  duty  of 
every  Jew  and  Jewess  to  do  whatever  they  can 
toward  bringing  about  the  happy  condition  that  the 
Prophets  forecast.  To  live  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
lessen  evil,  misery,  and  ignorance  among  men,  to 
increase  happiness,  knowledge,  and  joy,  and  to  pre- 
pare the  world  for  the  messianic  future — this  is  the 
duty  of  every  man  and  woman  in  Israel.  For  such  a 
life  it  is  the  aim  of  our  Confirmation  lessons  to  pre- 
pare us,  and  to  dedicate  us  to  such  a  life  is  the  holy 
purpose  of  our  Confirmation. 

Questions 

(i)     Wherein  lay  the  greatness  of  the  Jewish  Proph- 
ets? 

(2)  Why  does  a  man's  view  of  the  future  affect  his 

work?    How  does  this  rule  apply  to  a  people? 

(3)  How    has    the    Prophets'    idea    of    the    future 

influenced  the  world? 

(4)  What  sort  of  a  future  did  the  Prophets  forecast? 

What  are  its  leading  features  to  be?  What  do 
we  call  it,  and  why?  Can  you  explain  the 
words  "Messiah"  and  "Messianic"? 


94  The  Faith  of  Israel 

(5)  Has  the  Messianic  hope  been  realized?     If  not, 

why  not?     How  have  Jews  and   Christians 
differed  in  regard  to  the  Messiah? 

(6)  What  duty  d(5es  the  Messianic  hope  put  upon 

us?     How  is  it  related  to  Confirmation? 

(7)  Recite  the  passages  from  the  Bible  quoted  in 

this  lesson. 


I'MVERSITV  OF  CALIFORNIA   LIIJRARV 

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